
HJl-a/6 



Class 

Book , Q ^ 



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

TED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIRECTOR 



Bulletin 537 



THE 



CLASSIFICATION OF THE 
PUBLIC LANDS 



BY 



GEORGE OTIS SMITH AND OTHERS 




WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
1913 



Monograph. 



/ 



DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 
UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

GEORGE OTIS SMITH, Director 



Bulletin 537 



THE 



CLASSIFICATION OF THE 



PUBLIC LANDS 



LI 



BY 



GEORGE OTIS SMITH AND OTHERS 




WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
1913 



1 



\0 



^y 



D. OF D, 
17 1913 



CONTENTS. 

v 



Page. 

The purpose of land classification 7 

Development of the Survey's organization for land classification 11 

History and legal basis for land classification 18 

Introduction 18 

Land laws 20 

General divisions-1 20 

Public-land laws 20 

Agricultural-land laws 20 

Purpose 20 

Homesteads , 21 

Forest homesteads 21 

Enlarged homesteads 22 

Desert land 22 

Reclamation act 22 

Isolated tracts 22 

Timber and stone lands 23 

Mineral-land laws 23 

General provisions 23 

Lodes 24 

Placers 25 

Building stone 25 

Oil 26 

Salines 26 

Coal-land laws 27 

Laws relating to public and quasi-public uses 27 



Railroads 



Irrigation 28 

Power 2S 

Mining and milling 29 

Municipal uses 29 

Land grants 29 

Grants to States 29 

In aid of schools and State institutions 29 

In aid of internal improvements 30 

Carey Act 30 

Railroad grants 31 

Necessity for land classification 32 

Agencies and methods of classification 33 

Classification by affidavit of applicant 33 

Classification by deputy surveyors 34 

Classification by Land Office field service 34 

Classification by the Geological Survey 35 

Historical sketch__- 35 

Coal lands 36 

Oil lands 38 

Phosphate lands 39 

Potash lands 40 

Metalliferous-mineral lands 40 

3 



4 CONTENTS. 

History and legal basis for land classification — Continued. 
Agencies and methods of classification — Continued. 

Classification by the Geological Survey — Continued. Page. 

Water-power sites 41 

Reservoir sites 42 

Public water reserves 42 

Withdrawal acts 43 

Separation acts 45 

Desirable new legislation . 46 

Classification of mineral lands 50 

Field methods 50 

Development _ 50 

Detailed survey 53 

Methods used when a topographic base is available 53 

Methods used when a base map must be prepared 54 

Methods followed when the Land Office survey affords a 

base map 58 

Reconnaissance survey 60 

Public-land surveys 61 

Preparation of data for classification 63 

Coal lands 65 

Purpose of classification 65 

Methods of classification 66 

Principles involved 66 

Factors involved 67 

Essentials of workability 67 

Quality 68 

Thickness 69 

Depth 73 

Classification by 40-acre tracts or lots 78 

Outcrop coal and burned coal 78 

Methods of valuation 79 

Cost of coal in the ground 79 

' Factors involved 81 

Effect of quality on price 82 

Effect of mining cost on price 82 

Value of thin coals 83 

Value of irregular beds ■_ 87 

Value per acre 90 

Reduction for depth 91 

Allowance for faults 93 

Effect of intrusions 94 

Allowance for other factors 94 

Reduction for distance from railroad 95 

Maximum price 95 

Review of classification 95 

Regulations for the classification and valuation of public coal 

lands 96 

Restoration .«. 97 

Field work on coal lands 98 

General nature of the work 98 

Location 99 

Stratigraphy 99 

Extent and thickness of coal beds 100 



CONTENTS. .§ 

Classification of mineral lands — Continued. 
Coal lands — Continued. 

Field work on coal lands — Continued. Page. 

Attitude and depth of the coal 105 

Quality of the coal 105 

Preparation of material 10S 

Procedure in classification and valuation 108 

Progress in classification and valuation - 111 

Oil and gas lands 111 

Occurrence of oil and gas 111 

Classification of oil and gas land 117 

Phosphate lands 123 

Use of phosphate 123 

Lands containing phosphate 124 

Phosphate reserves 125 

Florida reserves 125 

Western reserves 125 

Summary of phosphate situation 127 

Classification of phosphate lands 128 

Factors involved 128 

Principles controlling classification 129 

Regulations 130 

Progress in classification 131 

Lands bearing potash and related salines 134 

Geologic occurrence of the deposits 134 

Classification of potash-bearing lands 137 

Miscellaneous nonmetalliferous mineral lands 138 

Metalliferous mineral lands 142 

Purpose of classification 142 

Methods of classification 145 

Agencies employed 145 

Problems involved 145 

Preliminary procedure 146 

Field work 146 

Location and topography 140 

Investigation of placer deposits 147 

Geologic relations 117 

Testing 147 

Testimony of miners 147 

Investigation of lode deposits 148 

Kinds of evidence available 148 

General geology 148 

Country rock 149 

Intrusions and metamorphism 150 

Structure 151 

Outcrops and float of lodes 151 

Prospects and mines 154 

Samples and assays 154 

History of the region 155 

By-products of mineral-land classification 155 

Value of collateral information obtained 155 

Data of direct interest to the public at large 156 

Data relating to prospecting and mining 157 

Scientific data 158 



6 CONTENTS. 

Page. 

Classification in relation to water resources 159 

General principles of water utilization 159 

Classification of water-power sites 161 

Preliminary withdrawals 161 

Methods of field examination 167 

Diversity of conditions 167 

Reconnaissance examination 168 

Detailed field investigations 172 

Compilation of results and revision of withdrawals 174 

Adverse claims 175 

Nonpower classification 176 

Additional requirements to make power classification effective 177 

Classification of lands as regards irrigability 178 

Field methods 178 

General considerations 178 

Available water supply 181 

Present utilization of water for irrigation 182 

Duty of water 183 

Character of lands to be irrigated 184 

Character of irrigation works 185 

Methods of classification 185 

Procedure under the Carey Act 185 

Irrigation reservoir sites 187 

Procedure under the enlarged-homestead acts 187 

Classification as regards domestic use 190 

General principles 190 

Farm water supply 190 

Range water supply 191 

Municipal water supply 192 

Index 193 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Page. 
Figure 1. Township map showing classification and valuation of coal 

lands „ 63 

2. Diagram showing split or broken coal beds and their value 

for classification 71 

3. Diagram showing depth limits of coals of different B. t. u. 

and of different thicknesses under 6 feet 76 

4. Rates paid in the United States for mining coal of specified 

thicknesses, and curve showing average relation between 
mining rate and thickness 85 

5. Sketch map showing lines along which a coal bed is of equal 

thickness (isopachous lines), drawn for use in the valuation 

of coal land 89 

6. Reduced copy of diagram used by the United States Geological 

Survey in computing tonnage and value of coal per acre 92 

7. Diagram showing depth to which phosphate deposits are classi- 

fied under the regulations . 131 

8. Typical township card from survey records illustrating action 

taken by the United States Geological Survey on power sites. 166 



THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 



By George Otis Smith and others. 



THE PURPOSE OF LAND CLASSIFICATION. 

In the latter half of the nineteenth century the spirit of the public- 
land laws in the United States was settlement and development. 
With a public domain of one and a third billion acres, acquired in the 
preceding half century — 1803-1853 — by purchase, discovery, explora- 
tion, and cession, and with another third of a billion acres in Alaska 
constituting a later purchase, the Nation felt that it could be lavish 
with its lands. The wilderness called for pioneers of every type, and 
large premiums were held out to capital enterprise and individual 
initiative. Development was desired whatever the cost in lands that 
were intrinsically of little value without settlement. The same cen- 
tury that saw the creation of this national domain — an empire in 
itself — also witnessed the distribution of more than one-half of its 
acreage. This shrinkage of the national domain has naturally been 
coincident with national development in all lines of industry. West- 
ern prairies have become the world's granary, and western moun- 
tains, once wholly in public ownership, are now contributing to their 
private and corporate owners the profits on no small proportion of 
the world's output of metals and of mineral fuels. 

With advancing years a wise nation, like a prudent man, learns 
to husband its resources. Land values are now recognized, the pur- 
pose in both legislation and administration has changed, and highest 
development alone is sought. With the most and the best of the 
Nation's land already alienated, the national duty is to put to its 
best use what remains. 

Utilization of lands for their greatest value necessitates the deter- 
mination of that value, which is, briefly, land classification; and, 
to be adequate, land classification must be based upon first-hand 
acquaintance with the particular land under consideration. With a 
national estate including country ranging from salt-incrusted deserts 
to valleys knee-deep with nutritious grasses or giant forests almost 
impenetrable because of luxuriant undergrowth, no general statutes 

7 



8 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

that may be enacted can be made so definite as not to require the 
exercise of well-informed judgment in their execution. To this end 
examination and classification of the public lands constitute an initial 
step in their disposition for development and settlement. That a few 
decades ago settlement and development commonly outstripped clas- 
sification and often far preceded even the legal disposition of the land 
itself is no good reason for failure to follow the more logical pro- 
cedure now. 

The principle of land classification is inherent in many of the 
public-land laws, and classification of lands has in late years been 
specifically recognized by Congress as a step indispensable to the ad- 
ministration of the national domain. This public estate is even now 
so extensive and valuable as to demand a business policy. Making 
allowance for the alienated lands included within the land units de- 
scribed in the various coal-land areas withdrawn by executive order 
for classification, and also estimating the expected reduction of these 
withdrawals by classification of parts of them as noncoal land, the 
people of the United States possess to-day 44,000,000 acres of coal 
lands, exclusive of the Alaskan coal fields. A large proportion of 
this acreage, however, is underlain by the lower-grade coals. In the 
almost equally important items of oil and phosphate rock the exist- 
ing withdrawals indicate national ownership of over 2,000,000 acres 
of oil and gas lands and nearly 3,000,000 acres of lands which will 
furnish our agricultural regions their future supply of mineral phos- 
phate. Nor have all the agricultural lands been alienated. Public 
and private irrigation projects will reclaim several millions of acres 
of arid land, and dry farming under the enlarged-homestead act will 
materially add to the area of farm lands. 

To insure appropriate disposition and to secure highest use of 
the Nation's lands, scientific land classification by the United States 
Geological Survey has been made an integral part of public-land 
administration. Quantitative knowledge of the land and its re- 
sources is now made a preliminary, first, to disposition of lands 
under the various settlement and development laws ; second, to reser- 
vation of lands from present acquisition pending the enactment of 
adequate legislation; and third, to valuation of lands under a 
statute which provides for their disposition at prices expressing 
known value. 

The purpose of land classification, then, is highest utilization, and 
to attain this end it has been necessary to coordinate the work of 
scientific investigation with the administrative functions of the 
Department of the Interior. The large participation of the Geo- 
logical Survey in the public-land administration has naturally pre- 
sented problems involving changes both in office and field organiza- 
tion and in executive and scientific methods. For these changes 



PURPOSE OF LAND CLASSIFICATION. \) 

there has been little or no precedent. Scientists and public men of 
older countries have been outspoken in their interest in this new 
application of science to governmental administration, and requests 
have been made for more detailed information on the subject than 
is available in the references appearing in administrative reports of 
the Secretary of the Interior and his subordinates. 

A new application of any branch of science necessarily affects the 
science itself. New use involves added requirements and in turn may 
contribute in by-products even more than it demands. The general 
effect of this direct application of the Geological Survey's investiga- 
tive work to large problems of public administration is believed to 
have been beneficial to science itself. It has broadened the outlook 
of the investigator, but especially it has demanded that results be 
sought which are quantitatively exact as well as qualitatively true. 

A full statement of the policy of land classification and a detailed 
description of the procedure and methods so far found necessary to 
carry out that policy, in the stage of development already reached, 
are presented in this bulletin. This information is believed to be of 
value both to students of government and to geologists and engineers 
interested in the application of scientific investigation to practical 
business. The historical and legal phases of the discussion may be 
of greatest interest to the citizen concerned in his country's highest 
development, while the description of field methods should be of 
immediate value in indicating new requirements imposed upon sci- 
entific education, for details of this business policy of the Govern- 
ment are already being adopted in private and corporate land exam- 
inations. 

This bulletin represents contributions by many authors — members 
of the land-classification board and of the field branches of the Sur- 
vey. The description of the development of the Survey's organiza- 
tion for land classification, which immediately follows this introduc- 
tion, was written by W. C. Mendenhall, who as chief of the land- 
classification board has been directly responsible for the preparation 
of the bulletin. The discussion of the history and legal basis of 
classification was prepared by M. W. Ball, a geologist who has been 
identified with the work of land classification from its beginning and 
is now chairman of the oil section of the board. 

The chapter on the classification and valuation of coal land was 
written by G. H. Ashley, until recently State geologist of Tennessee 
and now the chairman of the coal section of the land-classification 
board. At the time of his earlier connection with the Survey Mr. 
Ashley, who has made a special study of coal problems in both the 
eastern and the western fields of the United States, wrote the chapter 
on " The value of coal land " which appears in Survey Bulletin 424. 
In the preparation of the present paper Mr. Ashley has been most 



10 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

efficiently assisted by C. E. Lesher, who is independently responsible 
for the short section on " The preparation of data for classification." 
Mr. Lesher should be credited with many of the office methods which 
facilitate the prompt and accurate handling of data contributed by 
the field men of the Survey. 

Field methods are discussed by E, G. Woodruff, C. H. Wegemann, 
R. W. Richards, and F. R. Clark, all of whom are members of the 
geologic branch and have had wide experience in field work leading 
up to land classification. Under the topic " Oil and gas lands," J. D. 
Northrop, who has had experience in the California oil fields, and 
C. H. Wegemann, a geologist of broad experience in the Rocky 
Mountain fields, have collaborated in the discussion of the geologic 
occurrence of oil and gas, while Mr. Northrop has contributed the 
section on classification. In a similar way, under " Phosphate lands," 
A. R. Schultz and R. W. Richards, the former the chairman of the 
phosphate section in the land-classification board and the latter a, 
geologist who has worked out with great thoroughness and detail 
the complicated structural problems of the phosphate fields in south- 
eastern Idaho and adjacent parts of Wyoming, have collaborated in 
the general discussion of phosphate problems, Mr. Schultz being re- 
sponsible for the section on classification. The description of potash- 
bearing lands and their classification is the joint contribution of A. R. 
Schultz and H. S. Gale, Mr. Gale being the geologist in charge of 
the section of nonmetalliferous deposits of the geologic branch. E. H. 
Finch, of the land-classification board, who has been closely identi- 
fied with the cooperative work between the Survey and the General 
Land Office, has contributed the section on " Miscellaneous nonmetal- 
liferous lands," and F. C. Calkins, one of the experienced economic 
geologists of the Survey, who has had much to do with the classifi- 
cation of the lands in the Northern Pacific grant, has written the 
discussion of metalliferous mineral lands and the problems involved 
in their classification. The section on " By-products of mineral-land 
classification " was written by G. S. Rogers, a geologist of the geo- 
logic branch, whose recent work has been done in the western coal 
fields. 

The discussion of classification in relation to water resources has 
been prepared under the direction of N. C. Grover, chief engineer 
of the land-classification board, M. O. Leighton, Herman Stabler, 
E. C. La Rue, and W. B. Heroy collaborating. Messrs. Grover, 
Stabler, and Heroy have prepared the sections relating to classifica- 
tion and office procedure, while Mr. Leighton, as chief of the water- 
resources branch of the Survey, and Mr. Lai Rue, one of the ex- 
perienced field engineers of that branch, have cooperated in prepar- 
ing the discussion of field methods. 



DEVELOPMENT OF OKGANlZATlOtt FOE LAND CLASSIFICATION. 11 

It is noteworthy that the authors of the sections of this publica- 
tion describing the procedure employed in the work have themselves 
originated for the most part the methods that are so essential to 
successful and authoritative land classification. Mention should also 
be made here, however, of the important part played by A. C. Veatch, 
the chairman of the land-classification board at the time of its organi- 
zation, by C. Willard Hayes and Waldemar Lindgren, former chief 
geologists of the Survey, and by M. E. Campbell, who has been in 
charge of the geologic work in the western coal fields continuously 
since 1906 and has supervised the preparation of the sections on 
geologic field methods in this bulletin. 

DEVELOPMENT OF THE SURVEY'S ORGANIZATION FOR 
LAND CLASSIFICATION. 

The report of the committee of the National Academy of Sciences 
on the surveys of the Territories, prepared in accordance with the 
terms of a clause in the sundry civil bill approved June 30, 1878 
(20 Stat., 206, 230), contains these statements indicating the opinion 
of the committee as to the land-classification functions of the bureaus 
whose organization its members were recommending: 

The best interests of the public domain require, for the purposes of intelli- 
gent administration, a thorough knowledge of its geologic structure, natural 
resources, and products. The domain embraces a vast mineral wealth in its 
soils, metals, salines, stones, clays, etc. To meet the requirements of existing 
laws in the disposition of the agricultural, mineral, pastoral, timber, desert, 
and swamp lands, a thorough investigation and classification of the acreage of 
the public domain is imperatively demanded. * * * 

The Land Office shall also call upon the United States Geological Survey for 
all information as to the value and classification of lands. * * * 

The publications of the Geological Survey should consist of an annual report 
of operations, geological and economic maps illustrating the resources and classi- 
fication of the lands, reports upon general and economic geology in all its 
branches, with the necessarily connected paleontology. 

Maj. J. W. Powell, reporting to the Secretary of the Interior on 
November 1, 1878, in response to the request of the acting president 
of the National Academy of Sciences to transmit any information 
available in the Department of the Interior as to surveys then in 
existence, after listing the classes of lands recognized under the laws, 
adds the following comment: 

An examination of the laws * * * will show that the classes of lands 
mentioned above are therein recognized, and in the administration of the laws 
relating to these lands those belonging to each specific class must be deter- 
mined ; but no adequate provision is made for securing an accurate classifica- 
tion, and to a large extent the laws are inoperative or practically void; for ex- 
ample, coal lands should be sold at $10 or $20 per acre, but, the department 
having no means of determining what lands belong to this class, titles to coal 
lands are usually obtained under the provisions of statutes that relate to lands 



12 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

of other classes — that is, by purchasing at $1.25 per acre, or by homestead or 
preemption entry. An examination of the laws will exhibit this fact — that for 
the classification contemplated therein a thorough survey is necessary, embrac- 
ing the geological and physical characteristics of the entire public domain. 

After extended hearings before the House and Senate committees 
and the publication of many documents bearing upon the questions 
involved, Congress, in March, 1879, agreed upon a law which em- 
bodied the recommendations of the Academy of Sciences for the 
abolition of the Territorial surveys and the establishment of the 
United States Geological Survey but made no provision for the 
mensuration survey also recommended by the Academy. 

Under the law approved March 3, 1879 (20 Stat., 377, 394), estab- 
lishing the office of Director of the Geological Survey, it is pro- 
vided — 

That this officer shall have the direction of the geological survey and the 
classification of the public lands and examination of the geological structure, 
mineral resources, and products of the national domain. 

Clarence King, the first Director, who entered upon his duties 
May 24, 1879, discusses the functions of the then newly created 
organization in his first annual report to the Secretary of the Inte- 
rior dated November 1, 1880. In this discussion he states that — 

* Two special and distinct branches of duty are imposed upon the Director of 
the Geological Survey — (1) the classification of the public land and (2) the 
examination of the geological structure and mineral resources. 

As regards the classification of the public lands, the text of the law leaves 
an uncertainty whether this classification is intended to be a scientific exposi- 
tion of the kinds of lands embraced in the national domain, such as arable, 
•v/ irrigable, timber, desert, mineral, coal, iron, showing the practical values and 
adaptabilities of the various classes or kinds of soil and surface, or whether, 
on the other hand, it was intended to furnish a basis of classification upon which 
the Government should part title to portions of the public domain. * * * 

Upon examination of the existing land system, I have assumed that Congress, 
in directing me to make a classification of the public lands, could not have in- 
tended to supersede the machinery of the Land Office and substitute a classifi- 
cation to be executed by another bureau of the Government without having 
distinctly provided for the necessary changes within the Land Office and ad- 
justment of relations between the two bureaus. * * * 

I have therefore concluded that the intention of Congress was to begin a 
rigid scientific classification of the lands of the national domain, not for pur- 
poses of aiding the machinery of the General Land Office by furnishing a 
basis of sale, but for the general information of the people of the country, and 
to produce a series of land maps which should show all those features upon 
which intelligent agriculturists, miners, engineers, and timbermen might here- 
after base their operations, and which would obviously be of the highest value 
for all students of the political economy and resources of the United States. 
Studies of this sort, entirely aside from the administration of the Land Office, 
can be made of the highest practical value ; and to this end a careful beginning 
has been made. 



DEVELOPMENT OF OKGANIZATION FOR LAND CLASSIFICATION. 13 

This interpretation by Director King of the duties imposed upon 
the new bureau by that clause in the organic act charging him with 
responsibility for the classification of the public lands prevailed in 
part until about 1906, when the pressing need of the Department of 
the Interior for an adequate classification of mineral lands for pur- 
poses of administration led to a revival of this suspended function 
of the Geological Survey, not, as Director King seemed to think 
necessary, by superseding the machinery of the General Land Office, 
but by cooperation, financial and administrative, between that bu- 
reau and the Survey and by a series of orders from the Secretary 
of the Interior, to whom both bureaus report. These orders so de- 
fine the part that each is to bear in public-land administration as to 
make the Survey chiefly responsible for the physical classifications. 

At first the work was concentrated largely on the classification and 
valuation of coal land, and this phase continues to be quantitatively 
the most important. In the Twenty-eighth Annual Report of the 
Survey, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1907, in discussing the 
work on the coal lands Director Smith makes this statement : 

Special investigations were conducted last year to determine the extent of 
the coal lands remaining in the possession of the Government and the quality 
and value of the coal deposits on these public lands. This work will be contin- 
ued on a larger scale and under a more comprehensive plan. Special attention 
will be given to the classification and valuation of the coal lands and their 
prompt segregation from the noncoal lands. This work is to be provided for by 
a joint allotment from the appropriations for the geologic and topographic sur- 
veys and that for testing coals belonging to the Government, and the General 
Land Office is also cooperating. 

The Twenty-ninth Annual Eeport of the Survey, for the fiscal year 
ended June 30, 1908, includes with some matter on the special fea- 
tures of the work of the Survey a discussion of land classification, 
which contains the following statement: 

In the last few years the Geological Survey has broadened the scope of its 
work in the classification of the mineral lands of the public domain. At the time 
of the organization of the Survey the classification intended by Congress was 
believed to be general in character and such as could be expressed on maps 
issued for the general information of the people. The present interpretation 
of the law is that the classification should be more definite, and therefore, 
during the last year, the Survey has continued its special field surveys of the 
coal lands belonging to the Government. * * * 

Increased demands have also been made on the mining geologists of the 
Survey for assistance in determining the mineral or nonmineral character of 
land for which title from the Government is sought. 

This work, which has become an increasingly important feature of 
the Survey's activities, was definitely recognized by the organization, 
in December, 1908, of a land-classification board as a section of the 
geologic branch, and by the reorganization of the board on May 1, 
1912, into a branch coordinate in rank with the other Survey branches. 



14 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

The Geological Survey has been in existence as a distinct organi- 
zation for about 34 years. The organizations which it succeeded and 
whose functions it continued to perform and gradually to enlarge 
upon as new duties were given it by Congress collected engineering 
material that was epitomized in topographic maps and geologic ma- 
terial that appeared either as geologic maps, as reports on geologic 
problems, or as data on the mineral resources of the Territories. 
Early in the Survey's history the necessities of its geologic work 
required the organization of a topographic branch for the prepara- 
tion of base maps. Although these maps were intended to serve 
primarily as bases on which to delineate and present geologic mate- 
rial, they have proved to be of great value for other and wider uses. 
Not the least of these uses is that to which they are put in land 
classification. The thousands of maps issued are graphic engineer- 
ing reports on the physical and cultural features of the areas they 
represent. They are essential to the study of drainage areas, irriga- 
bility of lands, possible power development, and rights of way, and 
supplemental sheets now prepared give additional data on the dis- 
tribution of timber and of springs, of desert and of grass land, and 
of cultivated and irrigated areas. 

On March 20, 1888, Congress, by joint resolution, directed the Sec- 
retary of the Interior, through the United States Geological Survey, 
to make a special investigation of the practicability of constructing 
reservoirs for the storage of water in the arid regions of the United 
States. This work was supported for a time by appropriations but 
was later discontinued by Congress after many reservoir sites had 
been examined and segregated and a number of reports valuable in 
the classification of the lands of the arid regions had been published. 

After the irrigation survey was abolished the division of hy- 
drography was organized within the Geological Survey, at first as 
a part of the topographic branch and later with special small appro- 
priations, its purpose being to continue that part of the work of the 
irrigation survey that involved the study of the available water 
resources of the Western States and Territories. As the value of 
this work to reclamation became manifest, Congress responded by 
increasing the amount of the funds annually available for this pur- 
pose until in 1903 they reached the sum of $200,000 a year. 

On June IT, 1902, the reclamation act (32 Stat., 388) was passed. 
This act represented the culmination toward which the work of the 
division of hydrography had up to that time been tending. That 
work gave definite information as to available supplies of water and 
the lands on which the water could be used. The reclamation act 
authorized the construction of works for the application of these 
waters and the reclamation of the tributary lands. But the reclama- 
tion fund is not available for general studies of water supplies ; it can 



DEVELOPMENT OF OKGANIZATION FOE LAND CLASSIFICATION. 15 

be used only for studies of water available for use on specific projects. 
The work of the division of hydrography therefore did not cease with 
the organization of the Reclamation Service but has been continued 
in the Geological Survey by the water-resources branch. 

Developments within the geologic branch since its organization 
have likewise marked a steady evolution from its original type. The 
branch has grown, its appropriations and its force have increased, 
and its work has been more closely subdivided and specialized and 
has attained greater refinement in all departments; and while this 
evolution has been taking place it has steadily accumulated a great 
mass of facts bearing on the geology and mineral resources of the 
United States. 

The material accumulated since their organization by the field 
branches of the Survey — the geologic branch, the topographic branch, 
the water-resources branch and its predecessors, the irrigation survey 
and the division of hydrography — constitutes a vast body of infor- 
mation concerning the public domain — its geology, its geography, 
and its water supplies and the engineering features that control the 
distribution of these supplies. This store of information is by no 
means complete, for many problems are still untouched and many 
areas are unexamined, but nevertheless the archives of the bureau 
contain a greater mass of material of the kind required for classify- 
ing the remaining lands of the public domain into types that accord 
with their various uses than exists anywhere else in the public records. 

With the accumulation of the data indicated the Department of 
the Interior and its bureaus have become increasingly ready and will- 
ing to call on the Survey for assistance in that phase of public-land 
administration which requires as its basis a classification of the 
lands into the types recognized in the statutes. 

The requests made by the department for information contained 
in the Survey's records were at first sporadic; later they became 
more frequent and numerous, so that it became necessary to create 
within the Survey itself an organization to assemble this informa- 
tion systematically and transmit it to the department and to other 
bureaus in the department in such form as would be most readily 
applicable to the solution of administrative problems. This organi- 
zation was named the land-classification board and was first formed 
as a section of the geologic branch and finally made a branch of the 
Survey coordinate in functions and responsibility with the field 
branches whose evolution has been briefly outlined. 

The Survey's organization for classifying the public lands con- 
sists, then, fundamentally and primarily, of three field branches — 
geologic, topographic, and water resources — and finally of the re- 
cently organized office branch known as the land-classification board, 



16 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

with its staff of geologists and engineers, who analyze and translate 
into terms of public-land administration the data collected by the 
geologists and engineers of the field branches. 

In its organization the land-classification board is in a sense a 
replica in miniature of the bureau of which it is a part. It consists 
of two divisions — a division of mineral classification and a division 
of hydrographic classification. The first corresponds to the geologic 
branch and receives, digests, and issues as land-classification data 
the material collected by the field geologists; the second bears a cor- 
responding relation to the topographic and water-resources branches 
and similarly utilizes the engineering data gathered by the field force 
of those branches. Again, the division of mineral classification con- 
tains a number of sections which correspond closely with similar sec- 
tions in the geologic branch. These sections, in the organization as 
it exists at present, are the coal section, the oil section, the phosphate 
section, and the metalliferous section, corresponding roughly to 
similar sections in the geologic branch as well as to the principal of 
the natural resources with which the board deals. 

The work of the coal section, described elsewhere in detail, is 
to define the principles that shall control coal-land classification, to 
determine the character of the data necessary for this purpose, to 
receive these data as collected by the field geologists of the geologic 
branch, and to make and promulgate the classifications and valuations 
by the use of these data — this in accordance with principles already 
carefully defined. The coal section consists of a chairman, who is 
a member of the land-classification board and one of the most ex- 
perienced coal geologists of the Survey, and a number of additional 
members, who are familiar with coal problems and are chosen usually 
from the geologic branch, although some have been chosen from 
other sections of the board. The coal section thus organized holds 
frequent sessions, which are attended by coal geologists who have 
data to present for consideration. At these sessions the problems that 
have arisen in the field are discussed and solved in accordance with 
the established rules of the board. The form and the procedure for 
the submission of data, including data for classification and valua- 
tion, are prescribed, and after these data are received appropriate 
recommendations are made to the Director for withdrawals or restora- 
tions, and valuation plats are prepared for his approval and for 
promulgation by the Commissioner of the General Land Office. 

Each step of these various processes is carefully recorded, in order 
that all evidence considered and all action taken may readily be 
reviewed at any future time should questions arise as to the correct- 
ness of the action or should new evidence be presented. Thereafter 
when reports on any subdivision classified are called for by any 



DEVELOPMENT OF OKGANIZATION FOK LAND CLASSIFICATION. 17 

Government department, by other bureaus, by public officials, or by 
citizens, prompt response can be made in the light of all action there- 
tofore taken affecting that subdivision. 

Because the laws applicable to coal lands, unlike those providing 
for the disposal of lands containing other minerals, authorize not 
merely the classification of the public domain as coal or noncoal land 
but the valuation and sale of the coal land at prices to be fixed in 
accordance with the quantity, quality, and accessibility of the coal, 
more complete action is possible in dealing with coal lands than with 
others, and the very completeness of action required involves corre- 
spondingly difficult problems. 

Similar sections have been organized within the division of mineral 
classification for dealing with lands that may contain oil and gas, 
phosphate, and other nonmetalliferous minerals and for such limited 
and special classifications of metalliferous land as are required by law. 
The organization of each of these sections is similar to that of the 
coal section, and the action taken by them follows similar lines. 
Members of the land-classification board act as chairmen of the oil 
and gas section, the phosphate section, and the metalliferous section. 
Other members of the sections are selected from geologists who are 
engaged in field work on the particular resource which is the subject 
matter of the board's action. 

A similar but less formal organization has been effected for the 
division of hydrographic classification. This division deals with 
those phases of land classification that depend on water supply and 
that involve the solution of engineering problems. The division's 
chief task is the classification of lands according to their irrigability 
and their power value, but it also reports on various complex prob- 
lems which are involved in the consideration of miscellaneous rights 
of way. This division is administered by the chief engineer of the 
board. As occasion may demand, sections are organized within it 
for disposing of the various problems that arise. At present (1913) 
there are two such sections, one dealing with water powers and the 
other with irrigation. Each section consists of a chairman and two 
or more additional members, usually chosen from the engineers or 
hydrographic geologists of the water-resources branch. The section 
thus constitutes a committee which, like the sections in the division 
of mineral classification, may give preliminary consideration to a 
problem of classification (under the enlarged-homestead act, for 
example), or it may prepare instructions for the guidance of the 
field engineer or geologist and later give consideration to the data 
that he has obtained and prepare appropriate recommendations. The 
field branch with which these sections necessarily maintain closest 
relations is the water-resources branch, although their relation with 
78894°— Bull. 537—13 2 



18 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

the topographic branch is but little less close. The graphic data 
on drainage areas, stream grades, reservoir sites, and general topo- 
graphic features which result from the work of the topographic 
branch, when combined with the data on water supply assembled 
by the water-resources branch, furnish the basis for determining most 
irrigation and power problems. 

In addition to the work done by these technical divisions and sec- 
tions, certain miscellaneous duties are performed by means of a less 
well-defined administrative division of the board, whose functions 
are closely interwoven with those of the technical divisions and are 
participated in by some of the same officers. A committee, of which 
the secretary of the board is chairman, has charge of the filing and 
docketing system. The chairman of the oil section is responsible for 
the records in the division of mineral classification and for the details 
of cooperation with the Land Office and the Indian Office ; the chair- 
man of the water-power section is chiefly responsible for the records 
in the division of hydrographic classification. 

The more important elements in the organization are set forth 
in the following outline: 

LAND-CLASSIFICATION BOARD. 

Administration. 

Chief of board. 
Chief engineer. 
Secretary. 

Division of mineral classification. 

A geologist in charge. 
Coal section. 
Oil section. 
Phosphate section. 
Metalliferous section. 

Division of hydrographic classification. 

A chief engineer in charge. 
Water-power section. 
Irrigation section. 

HISTORY AND LEGAL BASIS FOR LAND CLASSIFICA- 
TION. 

INTRODUCTION. 

Ever since the policy of selling the lands of the public domain as 
a source of national revenue was abandoned and the contrary policy 
of so disposing of them as to promote settlement and development 
was adopted, the administration of the land laws passed by Congress 






HISTORY AND LEGAL BASIS. 19 

has required a segregation of the lands into classes according with 
their character. It is apparent, although it has nowhere been ex- 
pressly stated by Congress, that the fundamental principle guiding 
that body has been to dispose of each tract of the public domain for 
the use to which it is best adapted. Thus the laws have provided 
that agricultural entry should not be made upon valuable mineral 
lands, that lands containing deposits of coal should be sold only as 
coal lands, and so on for all other classes of lands. The underlying 
theory of devoting the public lands to their highest use and the 
consequent necessity for classification of uses may easily be recognized 
from a study of the brief outline of the more important existing land 
laws given on pages 20-32. 

The same recognition by Congress of the necessity for land classifi- 
cation is shown by numerous acts calling for the classification of 
specific areas. Nearly every law providing for the opening of an 
Indian reservation has required the lands to be classified preliminary 
to their disposition. The act of February 26, 1895 (28 Stat., 683), 
provides and appropriates for a definite classification of lands within 
the limits of the Northern Pacific Railroad grant in portions of 
Montana and Idaho, and the sundry civil bill of June 25, 1910 (36 
Stat., 739), makes further appropriation for the same purpose. The 
act of October 2, 1888 (25 Stat., 526), makes provision for a classifica- 
tion that was not necessary to the administration of the land laws 
then in force by appropriating $100,000 to the Geological Survey 
" for the purpose of investigating the extent to which the arid region 
of the United States can be redeemed by irrigation and the segrega- 
tion of the irrigable lands in such arid region and for the selection 
of sites for reservoirs and other hydraulic works necessary for the 
storage and utilization of water for irrigation and the prevention of 
floods and overflows." 

A relatively recent indication of Congressional belief in land 
classification is afforded by the two acts of June 25, 1910, providing 
for the withdrawal of lands from entry, the one of public lands, the 
other of lands in Indian reservations. As withdrawals constitute one 
step in the process of classifying the public domain, the passage of 
bills authorizing withdrawals clearly reaffirms the established policy 
of land classification. One of these acts (36 Stat., 847), in terms 
sanctions the classification of lands, providing — 

That the President may at any time, in his discretion, temporarily withdraw 
from settlement, location, sale, or entry any of the public lands of the United 
States, including the District of Alaska, and reserve the same for water-power 
sites, irrigation, classification of lands, or other public purposes to be specified 
in the orders of withdrawals, and such withdrawals or reservations shall remain 
in force until revoked by him or by an act of Congress. 



20 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

The other (36 Stat., 855) provides— 

That the Secretary of the Interior be, and he is hereby, authorized, in his 
discretion, to reserve from location, entry, sale, allotment, or other appropria- 
tion any lands within any Indian reservation, valuable for power or reservoir 
sites, or which may be necessary for use in connection with any irrigation 
project heretofore or hereafter to be authorized by Congress. 

Thus the plain intention of Congress £hat the public lands shall 
be classified and that they shall be disposed of in accordance with 
their classification is shown by definite provisions for the classification 
of certain areas, by the authorization of land withdrawals, and by 
the creation of an organization — the Geological Survey — among 
whose prescribed duties the classification of the public lands is spe- 
cifically stated. But were there none of these evidences the fact that 
Congress has consistently recognized the necessity for the classifica- 
tion of public lands would be established beyond question by a study 
of the land laws, which, as the following brief outline will show, 
could not be administered without some sort of segregation into 
classes. This outline does not purport to set forth in detail all the 
laws under which disposition is made of the public lands; it only 
sketches the principal features of the more important laws. 

LAND LAWS. 
GENERAL DIVISIONS. 

The land laws of the United States may be divided into two dis- 
tinct classes — public-land laws and land grants. The first are general 
laws providing for the disposition of lands to any duly qualified 
person who may wish to avail himself of the prescribed conditions; 
the second are special laws granting certain areas to specified indi- 
viduals, corporations, or State governments. The laws of each of 
these two classes may in turn be subdivided, the public-land laws 
falling loosely under the headings of agricultural, mineral, and coal 
land laws and laws relating to public and quasi-public uses, whereas 
land grants may be divided into grants made to States and grants 
made to railroads. 

PUBLIC-LAND LAWS. 
AGEICTJIiTURAL-IiAlTD LAWS. 

Purpose. — In general, the purpose of the laws relating to agri- 
cultural land is to promote the settlement of the public domain. 
The principal acts are those providing for homesteads, forest home- 
steads, enlarged homesteads, desert-land entries, entries under the 
reclamation act, the sale of isolated tracts, and timber and stone 
entries. Every tract of land to which these laws are applied must 
be nonmineral in character. 



HISTORY AND LEGAL BASIS. 21 

Homesteads. — The homestead act was passed by Congress in 1862 
and was approved by President Lincoln on May 20 of that year 
(Rev. Stat., 2289-2303). It marked the final abandonment of the 
policy of disposing of the national domain as a means of providing 
public revenue. Until 1912 the homesteader was required to estab- 
lish a residence on his land and to reside thereupon for a period of 
five years. No definite amount of cultivation was required, but the 
building of houses and barns and the cultivation of a part or all of 
the area were regarded as evidence of the good faith of the entryman 
in entering the land for the purpose of building a home for himself, 
this being the fundamental object of the homestead act. On June 
6, 1912 (37 Stat., 123), the law was amended by reducing the five 
years' residence theretofore required to a residence of three years. 
The requirement as to residence is modified by what is known as the 
"commutation clause'' (Rev. Stat., 2301, as amended by the act of 
March 3, 1891, 26 Stat., 1098), which provides that after 14 months' 
residence and cultivation title may be obtained by paying a fixed 
price per acre, this price being either $2.50 or $1.25, the first if the 
land is within, the second if it is without the limits of a railroad grant. 
Homesteads reserving coal or oil and gas to the Government under 
the acts of June 22, 1910 (36 Stat., 583), and August 24, 1912 (37 
Stat., 496), described later (p. 45), may not be commuted. The 
amendment of June 6, 1912, also provides that the entryman must 
cultivate " not less than one-sixteenth of the area of his entry be- 
ginning with the second year of the entry and not less than one- 
eighth beginning with the third year of the entry and until final 
proof." The homestead act contains the clause " nor shall any 
mineral lands be liable to entry and settlement." The area of the 
homestead is restricted to 160 acres. 

Forest homesteads. — Lands in national forests are not in general 
open to agricultural entry, but under the act of June 11, 1906 (34 
Stat., 233), forest-reserve lands which are chiefly valuable for agri- 
culture, which are not needed for public purposes, and which, in 
the opinion of the Secretary of Agriculture, may be occupied with- 
out injury to the forest, may be entered under the homestead laws. 
Application for a particular tract desired, which must not exceed 160 
acres in area nor 1 mile in length, must be made to the Secretary of 
Agriculture. The land is then examined by a field agent of the Forest 
Service, and if his report is favorable the land is listed to the Depart- 
ment of the Interior, where homestead entry is allowed. The entry 
thereafter proceeds as would any other entry under the homestead 
law, but no commutation is permitted. The law differs from all 
other agricultural-land laws in that the land must be chiefly valuable 
for agriculture and that the entry may be described by metes and 
bounds instead of by legal subdivisions of the public-land survey. 



22 CLASSIFICATION OP THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

Enlarged homesteads. — An act known as the enlarged-homestead 
act, approved February 19, 1909 (35 Stat., 639), provides that in 
the States of Colorado, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, 
Wyoming, Arizona, and New Mexico a homestead entry may com- 
prise 320 acres of nonmineral lands which have been designated by 
the Secretary of the Interior as not susceptible of successful irriga- 
tion at a reasonable cost from any known source of water supply. 
On June 17, 1910 (36 Stat,, 531), a similar act was approved apply- 
ing to Idaho, and on June 13, 1912 (37 Stat., 132), one applying to 
California and North Dakota. The requirements as to residence and 
cultivation on an "enlarged homestead " are, under the act of June 6, 
1912 (37 Stat,, 123), the same as those for other homesteads, but 
enlarged-homestead entries may not be commuted by cash payment. 
The enlarged-homestead acts further provide that tracts in the States 
of Utah and Idaho which have not upon them " such a sufficient supply 
of water suitable for domestic purposes as would make continuous 
residence upon the lands possible " may be subject to entry without the 
necessity of residence, but one-eighth of the area of the entry must 
be cultivated from the beginning of the second year and not less than 
one-fourth from the beginning of the third year until final proof has 
been submitted. 

Desert land. — Under the desert -land acts entry may be made on 
lands which, by reason of lack of rainfall^ will not produce native 
hay or other agricultural crops or trees without irrigation. Such 
lands may be entered by irrigating and producing crops on not 
less than one-eighth of the area. No residence is required. Any 
person duly qualified may enter an area not exceeding 320 acres of 
such lands. It should be noted, however, that this 320-acre area is 
limited by the fact that one person is not permitted to acquire more 
than 320 acres of land under the public-land laws, mineral entries 
not being taken into account. The entryman is given three years 
in which to reclaim his land, which must be nonmineral in character. 

Reclamation act.— Under the act of June 17, 1902 (32 Stat., 388), 
the Government is building great irrigation projects for the reclama- 
tion of arid and semiarid lands in the West. Lands thus reclaimed, 
which must be nonmineral in character, may be entered by any person 
qualified to make a homestead entry. The enterable area is not more 
than 160 acres but is different in the different projects and in different 
parts of the same project. No charge is made for the land, but the 
entryman must pay his proportional part of the cost of the project 
in ten yearly installments. Three years' residence on the land is re- 
quired, as under other homestead laws, and at least one-half the area 
of the entry must be cultivated before title can be obtained. 

Isolated tracts. — Small tracts of public land surrounded by lands 
which have already been entered may be purchased as isolated tracts 



HISTORY AND LEGAL BASIS. 23 

under section 2455 of the Revised Statutes as amended by the act 
of June 27, 190G (34 Stat., 517). Under the act of March 28, 1912 
(37 Stat,, 77), mountainous tracts which are not isolated by entered 
land but which are unfit for cultivation may be purchased by the 
owner of adjoining land in the same manner as isolated tracts. A 
person desiring to purchase land in this manner files with the local 
land officers an application to purchase, whereupon, if the lands are 
nonmineral and are in fact isolated or mountainous, a public sale is 
advertised, at which the lands are sold to the highest bidder. No 
residence or cultivation is necessary, but the land must be nonmineral. 
Timber and stone lands. — The foregoing five classes of laws con- 
stitute the principal types under which agricultural entry may be 
made. There remains a sixth class of considerable importance, which, 
while applying only to lands more valuable for other purposes than 
for agriculture, is nevertheless more nearly allied to the agricultural 
laws than to the laws relating to minerals, coal, or quasi-public uses. 
Under the act of June 3, 1878 (20 Stat,, 89), and acts amendatory 
thereof nonmineral lands which are valuable chiefly for the timber 
and stone thereon and which are unfit for cultivation may be ap- 
praised and sold at not less than $2.50 per acre. Application to 
purchase is made in a manner similar to that required by the laws 
relating to isolated tracts, but there is no public sale. There is instead 
vi n appraisement of the value of the land by an appraiser designated 
by the Government, and the lands are purchased at the price so fixed. 

ICENERAL-IiAND LAWS, 

General provisions. — The mineral-land laws were in the main for- 
mulated in the 10 years between 1865 and 1875. They are based 
Jargely on local mining customs which had attained the force of law 
in the mining camps on the public domain. Their constant purpose 
has been to promote mineral development. The act of May 10, 1872 
(Rev. Stat., 2319), provides that "all valuable mineral deposits in 
lands belonging to the United States, both surveyed and unsurveyed, 
are hereby declared to be free and open to exploration and purchase, 
* * * by citizens of the United States and those who have declared 
their intention to become such." No important amendment of the 
mining laws has been made since the date of this act. At that time 
the known deposits of importance on the public domain comprised 
only metalliferous minerals, and the laws were framed with such 
deposits in mind, provision being made for two classes of claims — 
lode and placer. From time to time since the adoption of the mining 
laws one and another nonmetallif erous mineral has become important, 
and its entry under the placer law has been authorized by Congress, 
which has thus specially provided for the entry of lands that are 
chiefly valuable for petroleum, salines, and building stone. 



24 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

The general procedure under the mineral-land laws is the same 
for all classes of deposits. The person who desires to obtain mineral 
lands must first make a discovery of valuable mineral within the 
limits of the claim that he wishes to locate. This discovery, as in- 
terpreted by the Department of the Interior and the courts, must be 
such a showing of mineral as would warrant a man of ordinary pru- 
dence in expending his time and labor upon the claim in the reason- 
able hope and expectation of developing a paying mine thereon, 
or, as expressed in one of the latest decisions (40 L. D., 271) in- 
terpreting the lode law, " there must be actually physically exposed " 
within the limits of the claim " a vein or lode of mineral-bearing 
rock in place, possessing in and of itself a present or prospective 
value for mining purposes." The method of location, the posting 
of location notices, and other similar matters are determined by the 
local customs or miners' rules of the district in which the claim is 
situated. In order to hold a claim against possible adverse claim- 
ants — in other words, to prevent its being jumped — at least $100 
worth of work, called " assessment work/' must be performed on it 
each year. After $500 worth of assessment work has been done and 
certain requirements as to recording and surveys have been met, the 
applicant, on payment of a fixed price per acre, is entitled to patent. 

Lodes. — Claims for veins of quartz or other rock in place are 
known as lode claims (Kev. Stat., 2320). Their size is governed by 
the rules of the mining district in which they are situated but must 
not exceed 600 feet in width and 1,500 feet in length. Claims need 
not conform to the public-land system of surveys and may be in al- 
most any shape, provided only that the end lines of each claim shall 
be parallel to one another. When patent is sought, a purchase price 
of $5 an acre must be paid. 

All veins that come to the surface within a given claim are the 
property of the owner of that claim through their entire depth 
(Rev. Stat., 2322) but only for such portion of their extent as lies 
between the end lines of the claim. Thus the owner of the outcrop 
or apex of a lode may follow it downward indefinitely so long as 
he stays within his end lines and may mine it without regard to the 
ownership of the land under which it passes. This provision, which 
is known as the "law of the apex," has unquestionably been more 
provocative of litigation than any other provision of American land 
law. 

The lode law provides also for the discovery in driving tunnels 
of veins not outcropping on the surface and not previously known to 
exist. It grants to the discoverers the right to 1,500 feet of extent 
of each vein so discovered within 3,000 feet of the face of the tunnel, 
with the same apex right as if the discovery were made at the 
surface. Failure for six months to prosecute work on a tunnel acts 



HISTOKY AND LEGAL BASIS. 25 

as an abandonment of the right to veins which may subsequently be 
encountered. 

The number of claims which may be entered by one person under 
the lode law is unlimited, provided he does the necessary assessment 
work and otherwise complies with the law for each claim. More- 
over, the owner of a group of claims may concentrate his assessment 
work on one claim of the group if such work tends to the develop- 
ment of every claim in the group. 

Placers. — The placer law, which was approved July 9, 1870 (16 
Stat., 217), was intended to apply to gold and silver distributed 
through deposits of sand and gravel. As at that date there were no 
known important mineral deposits except veins and placers, the law 
provides (Rev. Stat., 2329) that "placer" claims shall include "all 
forms of deposit, excepting veins of quartz or other rock in place." 
These placer claims are subject to entry and patent in a manner 
similar to lode claims, but where the lands have been surveyed the 
claim must conform to the legal subdivisions of the survey. The 
purchase price is $2.50 an acre. The maximum area that may be 
included in one claim by an individual is 20 acres, although, as in 
lode claims, there is no limit to the number of claims that may be 
entered. An association may enter in one claim an area equal to 20 
acres for each member but not more than 160 acres. Only one dis- 
covery of mineral is required to support a placer location, whether 
it be of 20 acres by an individual or of 160 acres by an association. 
The applicant for a placer claim must make affidavit that there is 
not within the limits of the claim any valuable vein or lode and also 
that title is not sought in order to control watercourses or to obtain 
valuable timber. The assessment work on each claim, whether of 
20 or 160 acres, must amount to $100 a year and to $500 before patent 
may be issued. On placer as on lode claims annual assessment work 
to the amount of $100 for each claim in a group may be done on any 
one of the claims in the group, provided it tends to the exploration 
or development of all. 

Building stone.— By the act of August 4, 1892 (27 Stat., 348), the 
placer law was extended to apply to lands chiefly valuable for build- 
ing stone. The requirements as to discovery, assessment work, area, 
and price are the same as for other placers. It is to be noted that 
in this act the factor of relative value was for the first time specifically 
introduced into mineral-land law. The earlier laws provide for 
mineral entry on lands which are valuable for their mineral deposits. 
It has been argued that only lands whose mineral value is greater 
than their agricultural value are properly enterable as mineral land, 
and the decisions of the department and the courts can not be said 
to have settled the matter conclusively. In the building-stone and 



26 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

subsequent extensions of the placer law, however, it is specifically 
stated that the lands must be chiefly valuable for the mineral upon 
whose discovery the claim is based. 

This extension of the placer law to cover building stone neither 
repealed nor conflicts with the timber and stone act of June 3, 1878 
(20 Stat., 89), already discussed. Thus lands chiefly valuable for 
building stone may be purchased at an appraised value not less than 
$2.50 per acre or may be entered under the placer law and patented 
after the completion of the required amount of assessment work, oh 
payment of $2.50 per acre. 

Oil. — About a quarter of a century after the passage of the placer 
law valuable deposits of petroleum were discovered on public lands. 
The discoverers, finding themselves without an appropriate law un- 
der which to apply for a patent, made application under the placer 
law — not because it was fitted to the needs of the situation but be- 
cause of its general provision that all forms of deposit excepting 
veins of quartz or other rock in place should be entered thereunder. 
The Department of the Interior, recognizing the undesirability of 
applying the placer law to oil and gas, refused to allow the applica- 
tions. On an appeal to Congress for relief, the act of February 11, 
1897 (29 Stat., 526), was passed, providing that lands chiefly valuable 
for petroleum and other mineral oils should be enterable under the 
placer law. On February 12, 1903 (32 Stat., 825), specific authority 
was granted for doing assessment work on any one of a group of oil 
claims lying contiguous and owned by the same person or corpora- 
tion, not exceeding five claims in all, provided that such assessment 
work tends to develop or determine the oil-bearing character of all 
the claims. The requirement of discovery of valuable minerals as a 
prerequisite to location — a requirement reasonable enough when ap- 
plied to veins outcropping at the surface or to gold placers — is 
applied as rigidly to deposits of oil and gas, which, as a rule, can be 
discovered only after long and expensive exploration, as to other 
minerals. Lands included in petroleum placers, like those entered 
for building stone, must be chiefly valuable for the purpose for which 
.they are claimed. 

Salines.— The act of January 31, 1901 (31 Stat., 745), extends 
the placer law to cover lands that contain salt springs or deposits 
of salt in any form and that are chiefly valuable therefor. This has 
been interpreted as including only sodium chloride, no specific pro- 
vision having been made for other soluble salts. The requirements as 
to area, assessment work, and price are those contained in the original 
placer law, except that the same person may not locate or enter more 
than one claim. The consideration of relative worth is again intro- 
duced. 



HISTOEY AND LEGAL BASIS. 27 

COAL-LAND LAWS. 

The law under which disposition is made of coal differs so radi- 
cally from the laws regarding other minerals that it is not ordinarily 
classed with the mineral-land laws. It was approved March 3, 1873 
(17 Stat., 607), and was incorporated into the Eevised Statutes as 
sections 2347 to 2352. Any qualified person may purchase an area 
of coal land not exceeding 160 acres on payment of not less than $10 
an acre if the land is more than 15 miles from a railroad "and 
not less than $20 an acre if the land is within 15 miles of a railroad. 
An association of persons severally qualified may purchase 320 acres. 
An association of four or more persons who have opened and im- 
proved a coal mine upon the public lands and have expended not less 
than $5,000 in working and improving it may enter an area not ex- 
ceeding 640 acres. No person may make more than one coal entry, 
either individually or as a member of an association, and no asso- 
ciation any member of which has previously exhausted his coal right 
may purchase coal land. A person or association opening a mine 
on the public lands is entitled to a preference right of entry for the 
lands on which the mine is situated, provided that a " coal declara- 
tory statement " is filed within 60 days from the initial date of 
actual possession and the commencement of improvements upon the 
land. This preference right is good for one year only. The opera- 
tion of the law is restricted to surveyed lands, which must not be 
valuable for their content of gold, silver, or copper. 

For over 30 years after the passage of this law all coal lands were 
sold at the minimum prices of $10 and $20 an acre prescribed by the 
statute. Since 1907 the selling prices have been fixed by the Geo- 
logical Survey and have ranged from the minimum prices up to $600 
an acre. 

LAWS RELATING TO PUBLIC AND QUASI-PUBLIC USES. 

The laws governing public and quasi-public uses of land differ 
from the other laws under discussion in that they provide for the 
use of rights of way for various specified purposes and do not con- 
template the transfer to the beneficiaries thereunder of fee title to 
the land affected. 

Railroads.— By the act of March 3, 1875 (18 Stat., 482), Congress 
granted to railroad companies right of way to the extent of 100 feet 
on each side of the center line of a proposed railroad through the 
public lands, under prescribed conditions. Upon the approval by 
the Secretary of the Interior of the location map filed by any rail- 
road company, the road as located is noted on the plats in the Gen- 
eral and local land offices, and thereafter all public land over which 
such right of way passes is disposed of subject to such right of way. 
By act of March 2, 1899 (30 Stat., 990) , Congress provided for similar 



28 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

rights of way across Indian reservations, and by the act of March 
3, 1899 (30 Stat., 1233), the Secretary of the Interior was authorized 
to approve rights of way for wagon road, railroad, or other highway 
across any forest reservation or reservoir site when in his judgment 
the public interest would not be injuriously affected thereby. 

Irrigation.— By act of March 3, 1891 (26 Stat., 1095), Congress 
granted to canal and ditch companies formed for the purpose of 
irrigation the right of way for canals, ditches, and reservoirs to the 
extent of the ground occupied and 50 feet on each side of the mar- 
ginal limits thereof, across public lands and reservations, provided 
that no such right of way shall be so located as to interfere with the 
proper occupation by the Government of any such reservation and 
that all maps of location shall be subject to the approval of the 
department of the Government having jurisdiction over such reserva- 
tion. Upon the approval by the Secretary of the Interior of the 
location map the right of way is noted on the plats in the General 
and local land offices and thereafter all public land over which the 
right of way passes is disposed of subject to such right of way. By 
act of May 11, 1898 (30 Stat., 404), the use which may be made of 
the canals, ditches, and reservoirs for which right of way is secured 
under the act of 1891 was extended to include purposes of a public 
nature, water transportation, domestic purposes, and the develop- 
ment of power, as subsidiary to the main purpose of irrigation. The 
act of February 15, 1901 (31 Stat., 790), which provides for the 
issuance of revocable permits for the development of power, covers 
also canals, ditches, pipes and pipe lines, flumes, tunnels, or other 
water conduits and water plants, dams, and reservoirs used to pro- 
mote irrigation. 

Power. — Power development on the public lands and reservations 
can at this time (February, 1913) be accomplished only under the 
act of February 15, 1901 (31 Stat., 790), except that power develop- 
ment subsidiary to the main purpose of irrigation may be made 
under the irrigation acts and that power development on national for- 
ests for mining, milling, and municipal purposes may be made under 
the act of February 1, 1905 (33 Stat., 628). The act of February 15, 
1901, authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to issue revocable per- 
mits, under general regulations to be fixed by him, for rights of way 
for electrical plants, poles, and lines for the generation and distri- 
bution of electrical power to the extent of the ground occupied by 
the works and not to exceed 50 feet on each side of the marginal 
limits thereof. The law provides that permits issued under this act 
shall not be held to confer any right, easement, or interest in, to, or 
over any public land, reservation, or park. The act of March 4, 1911 
(36 Stat., 1253), authorizes the head of the department having 
jurisdiction over the lands to grant rights of way for a period not 



HISTOKY AND LEGAL BASIS. 29 

exceeding 50 years upon the public lands, national forests, and reser- 
vations for poles and lines for the transmission and distribution of 
electrical power, to the extent of 20 feet on each side of the center 
line. 

Mining and milling. — The act of February 1, 1905 (33 Stat., 628), 
grants rights of way within or across national forests for dams, 
reservoirs, water plants, ditches, flumes, pipes, tunnels, and canals 
for mining purposes and for the purposes of the milling and reduc- 
tion of ores. Outside of the national forests the use of similar rights 
of way for these purposes may be made only under revocable permit 
under the act of February 15, 1901. 

Municipal uses. — Rights of way for municipal use for procuring 
water supply or for developing power may be obtained within a 
national forest under the act of February 1, 1905, and outside of the 
forests under the act of February 15, 1901. 

LAND GRANTS. 

GRANTS TO STATES. 

In aid of schools and State institutions. — The Continental Con- 
gress, about the year 1785, declared that to each State created out of 
the public domain there should be given a certain portion of each 
township in the State, the proceeds derived therefrom to be used for 
public education. Accordingly, when the first State, Ohio, was ad- 
mitted into the Union from the public domain, April 30, 1802 (2 
Stat., 173), sec. 16 of each township was granted for the estab- 
lishment of a school fund. As other States have been admitted this 
practice has been deviated from only in adding to the acreage 
granted. Sec. 16 has been a school section in every public-land 
State; to this sec. 36 has been added in many States, and in some 
States sees. 2, 32, and 36. The title of the State to these sections 
attaches immediately upon survey, unless the lands are at that date 
known to be mineral in character or are included in a valid settle- 
ment or other claim under the public-land laws or are within a forest, 
military, Indian, or other reservation. In any of these contingen- 
cies the State does not obtain title, but may select an equal area of 
nonmineral lands elsewhere. These are known as indemnity lands. 
As a rule they are not at once selected by the States but are selected 
only as the demand for specific lands arises. 

In addition to granting school lands in place and their associated 
indemnity lands, Congress has made to certain States " quantity 
grants " — that is, grants of specified quantities of nonmineral lands 
wherever the State may choose to select them — in aid of State insti- 
tutions, such, for example, as insane asylums. Selection rights under 
these grants, like those under the indemnity lists, are as a rule exer- 



30 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

cised by a State only when individuals or corporations purchase the 
right to select certain desired lands. 

In aid of internal improvements. — In the early days of the coun- 
try's history the right of Congress to grant public lands in aid of 
internal improvements was bitterly contested. The first legislation 
of this character was contained in the enabling act of the State of 
Ohio, already cited, and provided that one-twentieth of the .pro- 
ceeds of the sale of public lands within the State should be given 
to the State to be used in establishing public roads. The first grant 
of specific lands in aid of internal improvements was not made until 
February 28, 1823 (3 Stat., 727). This grant also was made to the 
State of Ohio to aid in the construction of a wagon road. Since 
that time there have been ten other wagon-road grants, eight canal 
grants, three river-improvement grants, and twenty railroad grants. 
The railroad grants to States alone approximate 40,000,000 acres. 
No grant to a State in aid of internal improvements has been made 
since the grant to Oregon for the Coos Bay wagon road on March 3, 
1869 (15 Stat., 340). Although these grants were in terms made to 
the States, most or all of them were in fact made through the 
States to corporations that carried out the improvements contem- 
plated. 

Carey Act— The act of August 18, 1894 (28 Stat,, 372, 422), com- 
monly known as the Carey Act, and amendments thereto, the pur- 
pose of which is to aid the public-land States in the reclamation of 
the desert lands therein and in the settlement, cultivation, and sale of 
such lands in small tracts to actual settlers, authorize — 

(a) The temporary withdrawal of public lands from settlement or 
entry pending investigation and survey preliminary to the filing of 
an application for segregation, such withdrawn lands to be restored 
to settlement and entry at the end of one year from the date of with- 
drawal in case application for segregation is not theretofore made. 

(h) The segregation of public lands by the Secretary of the Inte- 
rior, contracts between the United States and any beneficiary State, 
and the reclamation of such lands by beneficiary States within 10 
years from the approval of the State's application (subject to an 
extension of 5 years) . 

(c) The patenting to any beneficiary State of any tract of re- 
claimed land when satisfactory proof is made that an ample supply 
of water to reclaim it is actually furnished. 

Other important provisions of the Carey Act are in brief as 
follows : 

Prior to segregation of lands or execution of contract between the 
United States and any State, such State shall file a proper applica- 
tion and present satisfactory plans for the reclamation of the lands. 
Lands that are not desert, lands that are occupied by bona fide set- 



HISTOKY AND LEGAL BASIS. 31 

tiers or under the mining laws, unsurveyed lands occupied with a 
view to entry under the desert-land laws, and lands containing val- 
uable deposits of minerals other than coal are not subject to segrega- 
tion. Coal lands (in Utah oil and gas lands also) may be segre- 
gated, but when patent is issued it must contain a reservation of these 
minerals to the United States. 

The usual procedure under the Carey Act is about as follows : 
A corporation or individual applies to the State for the with- 
drawal of certain public lands proposed for irrigation. The State 
thereupon submits to the Interior Department an application for 
their withdrawal. On the approval of this application the State is 
allowed one year in which to investigate the project and prepare 
satisfactory plans for reclamation. The proposing company con- 
ducts the investigations and if a project that is considered feasible 
is developed makes application to the State for the segregation of 
the irrigable lands and offers to contract with the State for their 
reclamation. The State thereupon applies to the Interior Depart- 
ment for the segregation of the lands under the terms of the Carey 
Act and its amendments. If the plan of irrigation is found to be 
feasible, the irrigation company responsible, and the available water 
supply adequate, the lands are segregated and the contract for their 
reclamation is entered into between the United States and the State. 
When the irrigation works are completed to the satisfaction of the 
Government, patent is issued to the State or to its assigns. The 
State receives payment for the lands from the settler, and the irriga- 
tion company, either directly or through the State, receives payment 
from each settler for his proportionate share of the irrigation works 
and water rights involved. 

RATLROAD GRANTS. 

As already indicated, most grants of public lands in aid of internal 
improvements have been made through the States. Eight grants, 
however, have been made by Congress directly to corporations, to en- 
courage the building of railroads. Four of these grants, aggregating 
approximately 109,000,000 acres, were made to Federal corporations 
created by Congress for the purpose of building the roads subsidized, 
and four were made to State corporations. Of the four grants to State 
corporations, two were declared forfeited by Congress in 1874, the two 
remaining aggregating approxmiately 6,000,000 acres. The first of the 
grants made directly to corporations was the Pacific railroads bill of 
July 1, 1862 (12 Stat., 489), which provided for the building of the 
Union Pacific-Central Pacific line from Missouri River to the Pa- 
cific coast. This act granted to the railroad every alternate section 
for 20 miles on either side of the right of way. The Northern Pa- 
cific grant of July 2, 1864 (13 Stat., 365), conveyed every alternate 



32 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

section for 40 miles on either side of the right of way. Neither of 
these grants contained restrictions as to the use to be made of the 
lands, but certain of the later grants required the lands to be sold 
only to actual settlers at prices not to exceed $2.50 an acre. The last 
of the railroad grants was made to the Texas Pacific Railroad Co. 
on March 3, 1871 (16 Stat., 573). Since that time Congress has 
consistently refused to grant lands, either to States or to corporations, 
in aid of internal improvements. 

i All the railroad grants were restricted to lands containing no 
minerals except coal and iron. These two were given to the rail- 
roads because of their use in the construction and operation of 
the roads. In certain cases the railroads were permitted to select 
other lands in lieu of those which, normally constituting a part 
of the grant, proved to be valuable for minerals other than 
coal and iron or to be included within Indian or military res- 
ervations or national forests or to have been covered by valid settle- 
ment. The right to make these lieu selections is usually sold by the 
railroads in the form of "scrip," which may be filed on any vacant 
unreserved nonmineral land. 

NECESSITY FOR LAND CLASSIFICATION. 

. A study of the land laws shows the absolute necessity of some 
form of segregation of the lands into classes as a prerequisite to their 
disposition. Agricultural entry may not be made on lands contain- 
ing valuable minerals, nor coal entry on lands containing gold, silver, 
or copper ; lands included in desert entries or selected under the Carey 
Act must be desert lands; enlarged -homestead lands must not be 
susceptible of successful irrigation ; placer claims must not be taken 
for their timber value or their control of watercourses; and lands 
included in building-stone, petroleum, or salt placers must be more 
valuable for those minerals than for any other purpose. So through 
the whole scheme of American land laws runs the necessity for 
determining the use for which each tract is best fitted. 

No specific financial provision has ever been made for a systematic 
classification of the entire public domain into classes representing 
the highest use for each area. Such a scheme, with proper provision 
for revisions whenever necessitated by changing conditions or in- 
creased knowledge, would be of immense value in the administration 
of the public domain, and if it had been initiated when the major 
portion of the public-land laws were in process of formation it would 
have saved to the public natural resources of immense value. It can 
hardly be questioned that the National Academy of Sciences had in 
mind such a systematic classification of the entire public domain 
when it recommended the creation of the Geological Survey, but the 



HISTOKY AND LEGAL BASIS. 33 

new organization when created was not supplied with the funds to 
carry forward a work of such magnitude. The classification of coal 
lands and the segregation of lands valuable for oil, gas, phosphate, 
potash, water power, and reservoir sites constitute a tardy and very 
meager attempt to meet the need for a universal classification. 

In default of a classification of the entire national domain the 
land department early adopted the expedient of requiring a classi- 
fication of each tract of land at the time of its disposition. These 
classifications in general originated from four sources — first, from the 
applicant for the land; second, from deputy surveyors; third, from 
members of the Land Office field service; and fourth, from the 
Geological Survey. It is the present purpose to discuss the first 
three types of classification somewhat briefly and the last in consider- 
able detail, and to show the weight given to each type and the results. 

AGENCIES AND METHODS OF CLASSIFICATION. 
CLASSIFICATION BY AFFIDAVIT OF APPLICANT. 

Nearly every applicant for public land is required to submit an 
affidavit that the land desired is of a character properly subject to 
the proposed entry or selection. Every applicant under the agri- 
cultural laws must set forth by his own oath and that of two wit- 
nesses that the lands are nonmineral in character. The State in 
selecting indemnity or " quantity grant " lands must make affidavit 
to their nonmineral character. Mineral applicants must state under 
oath the discovery of valuable minerals, and similar affidavits are 
required of most if not all applicants. 

Less and less weight has been given in recent years to classifica- 
tions so made. It has been found 'that the affidavits of interested 
parties, whether furnished by individuals or submitted by sovereign 
States, do not furnish a reliable basis for the disposition of public 
lands. Furthermore, the determination of the mineral or nonmineral 
character of a particular tract may be too difficult and too complex 
a problem for solution by other than a special trained expert. At 
present all agricultural entries except homestead and desert-land 
entries on unwithdrawn lands are classified as to mineral character 
and power-site or reservoir value either by examination on the 
ground by the Land Office field service or by the Geological Survey 
from information contained in its records or procured by special ex- 
amination. Thus, although the affidavit of the applicant has not been 
abandoned, it is of little importance. Similarly mineral claims in 
national forests are subjected to examination before the applicant's 
affidavit of discovery is accepted, and all along the line classification 
by the entryman or selector is being replaced by classifications made 
by the Government. 

78894°— Bull. 537—13 3 



34 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

CLASSIFICATION BY DEPUTY SURVEYORS. 

The regulations for the survey of public lands require the deputy 
surveyor to note and report all occurrences of mineral. These re- 
quirements have varied from time to time. In certain periods the 
deputy surveyor has reported a somewhat detailed classification of 
the lands surveyed into first-class agricultural, second-class agri- 
cultural, grazing, mineral, timber, etc. At one time all lands re- 
ported by deputy surveyors to be mineral in character were with- 
held from agricultural entry, but the inaccuracy of the segregations 
and the magnitude of the areas involved led to a general order throw- 
ing all such lands open to all forms of entry. The only present 
result of a report by a deputy surveyor that land is mineral is to sub- 
ject agricultural entries to a more careful scrutiny than would other- 
wise be made. 

CLASSIFICATION BY LAND OFFICE FIELD SERVICE. 

The General Land Office has a well-organized field service en- 
gaged in the examination of entries and selections of public lands. 
All agricultural entries or selections, including State selections and 
railroad lieu selections but excepting homestead and desert-land en- 
tries on unwithdrawn lands, are examined by this field service as to 
their mineral character and power-site or reservoir values, unless the 
Geological Survey is able from its records to make a classification 
of the lands. Formerly the reports of the members of the field serv- 
ice were accepted as final without review outside of the Land Office 
and the Secretary's office, and, as a result, some classifications by the 
Geological Survey were overruled by the Land Office. The resulting 
confusion led to the adoption of cooperative agreements between the 
two organizations, whereby the information gathered by each is made 
fully available to the other. The first of these agreements was en- 
tered into July 10, 1910. It has been replaced by a more compre- 
hensive and more systematic agreement adopted March 5, 1912. Un- 
der this agreement all entries, selections, or applications except metal- 
liferous mineral entries, coal applications, and homestead and desert 
entries on unwithdrawn lands are referred by the General Land Office 
to the Geological Survey. The Survey thereupon renders to the Land 
Office a report on each case, classifying the land involved. If the 
Survey classifies the land as having no mineral, power, or reservoir 
value, questions concerning these values are considered as settled and 
the case goes forward if it is otherwise regular. If in a given case 
the Survey reports that the lands are mineral or that they have 
power or reservoir value the applicant is given 60 days within 
which to prove that the land is not of the character claimed by the 
Geological Survey but that it is in fact of the character originally 
claimed by him. If he fails so to prove, his application is canceled. 



HISTORY AND LEGAL BASIS. 35 

If the Geological Survey reports that it has not sufficient informa- 
tion to make a definite classification it furnishes to the Land Office 
whatever data it may have, which are placed in the hands of a mem- 
ber of the field service for field investigation and report. The report 
rendered is forwarded to the Geological Survey for further consid- 
eration, and a classification based upon it and other facts at hand 
is reported to the General Land Office. Under this agreement the 
records of the Survey are enriched by the data gathered by the 
Land Office field service and, on the other hand, the great amount 
of valuable information regarding the public lands on file in the 
Survey is made available to the Land Office in its administration of 
the land laws. 

CLASSIFICATION BY THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

Although the act organizing the Geological Survey definitely im- 
posed upon the Director the duty -of classifying the public lands, it 
was many years before the records of the organization contained a 
sufficient fund of information to be of great use in public-land 
administration. During its first quarter of a century the Survey 
devoted its energies almost entirely to gathering scientific data re- 
garding the whole of the United States, and only within the last 
six or seven years has the immense fund of information so gathered 
been applied in a systematic way to the solution of public-land 
problems. During the early period there were perhaps but two 
practical applications of the Survey's work to land classification. 
The result of the first application was the segregation of reservoir 
sites under the act of October 2, 1888 (25 Stat., 527), to which refer- 
ence has already been made. Congress in 1891 restored all the 
lands that had been segregated under this act except the areas 
actually needed for the construction of reservoirs, which still re- 
main segregated as reservoir sites and are not subject to entry. The 
second application was connected with the administration of the 
reclamation act by the Geological Survey. Many withdrawals of 
lands to be included in reclamation projects were made by the Sur- 
vey prior to the separation from it of the Reclamation Service. With 
these two exceptions the Geological Survey devoted its energies to 
gathering data rather than to applying the data gathered to the 
classification of public lands until the year 1906. Since that elate 
the Survey has been actively engaged in land-classification work. 
The cooperative agreement whereby certain types of information are 
made available to the Land Office in its administration of individual 



36 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

entries and selections has already been described. In addition coal 
lands are being classified and valued as rapidly as the funds at the 
disposal of the Survey will permit, and oil, gas, phosphate, and 
potash lands and lands valuable for water-power and reservoir sites 
are being withdrawn from entry as rapidly as information regard- 
ing them is obtained. It is proposed to explain here briefly the 
history of the classification undertaken with respect to each of these 
resources. 

COAIj LANDS. 

In the years 1905 and 1906 the general public began to realize that 
large areas of valuable coal lands in the West had been obtained from 
the Government by means of agricultural entries. The frauds thus 
perpetrated were so great as to shock the public mind and to call 
for some immediate action to prevent further similar looting. Ac- 
cordingly the President, on June 29, 1906, directed the Secretary of 
the Interior to withdraw from entry all valuable coal lands. The 
Survey had previously been making special studies of certain western 
coal fields and its geologists had assisted in unearthing some of the 
coal frauds. It was therefore prepared to submit a list of lands 
which should be withdrawn from entry, and on July 26, 1906, the 
Acting Secretary of the Interior withdrew from all forms of entry 
all the lands on the list submitted by the Survey. Other lists for 
withdrawal were prepared by the Survey during the summer and 
fall of 1906, and one very excellent list was prepared by the Forest 
Service. These withdrawals, being intended to prevent acquisition 
of coal lands under agricultural entry, were made in such terms as 
to prevent all forms of entry. However, on December 17, 1906, the 
form of all outstanding orders of withdrawal was modified to apply 
to coal entries only, so that the withdrawn lands became again sub- 
ject to agricultural entries but were not subject to coal entry. Thus 
fraudulent acquisition again became possible and was prevented only 
by the activity of the field service of the General Land Office. On the 
other hand, purchase of withdrawn lands as coal land became impos- 
sible until after classification and valuation. From time to time 
other withdrawals from coal entry were made until the spring of 
1909, when many of the outstanding withdrawals were restored to 
their original form and made effective against all forms of entry. 
Soon thereafter Congress passed the withdrawal act of June 25, 
1910 (36 Stat., 847), and since that date coal withdrawals have pro- 
hibited all forms of entry except entries on certain classes of land 
which are exempted from withdrawal by that act and agricultural 
entries for surface rights only. The policy throughout has been to 
withdraw all lands on which there is a reasonable probability of the 
occurrence of coal, to examine these lands as rapidly as the funds 



HISTOKY AND LEGAL BASIS. 37 

available will permit, and on the information gathered to base classi- 
fications, the lands found to be noncoal land being restored to entry 
and those found to contain workable coal being appraised at prices 
not less than the minimum prices prescribed by the statute. 

For a time the withdrawals worked great hardship. The greater 
part of the lands thus withheld were not good agricultural lands, but 
the total acreage suitable for agricultural development was large. 
The situation was finally relieved by the passage of three acts pro- 
viding for agricultural entry upon lands withdrawn or classified as 
coal lands, the Government retaining title to the coal deposits and 
the right to prospect for and remove them. These three acts are 
more fully discussed below under the heading " Separation acts " 
(p. 45). 

The first regulations prescribing criteria for the classification and 
valuation of coal lands were approved by Secretary of the Interior 
Garfield on April 8, 1907. They provided for a maximum workable 
depth of 1,500 feet and a minimum workable thickness of 2 feet, all 
lands underlain by coals of less thickness or at greater depth being 
classified as noncoal land. New regulations were adopted February 
19, 1908, and these were in turn superseded by those of April 15, 
1908, under which, although the minimum thickness remained un- 
changed, high-grade coals were classified as workable to a depth of 
3,000 feet and certain thicknesses of low-grade bituminous and sub- 
bituminous coals to a depth of 2,000 feet. Under all these regula- 
tions valuations were based on an estimate in which the number of 
beds, the thickness of the beds, and the depth of the beds below the 
surface were taken into account; but the methods of computing prices 
were such that, for example, a 20-foot bed was valued at no higher 
price than an 8-foot bed. On April 10, 1909, Secretary Ballinger 
approved a new set of regulations, drawn on entirely different prin- 
ciples. The minimum thickness was fixed at 14 inches and — a more 
important change — computations of value were based on the tonnage 
of coal in the land rather than on the number of beds. The maximum 
depth was retained at 3,000 feet. These regulations, while far in 
advance of those preceding, were nevertheless open to criticism be- 
cause they took little account of certain economic and mining engi- 
neering features, such, for example, as the relations between lift and 
haul, between thickness and mining cost, and between minimum 
thickness and workable depth. A new set of regulations has just 
been made effective in which these features have been taken into 
account and the maximum depth for the highest-grade coals has been 
increased to 5,000 feet. The prices are based on tonnage, heat value, 
depth, and thickness. These regulations are given in detail else- 
where in this bulletin (pp. 96-97). 



38 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

OIL, LANDS. 

The earliest withdrawals of lands containing oil and gas were 
made in order to protect oil operators from agricultural entry men. 
In 1900 certain lands in Wyoming and California were withdrawn 
from agricultural entry on representations made by citizens of those 
States that the lands contained valuable deposits of oil and gas 
and should be withheld from agricultural entry pending a determi- 
nation as to their content of oil. These orders and others of similar 
character were from time to time issued by the General Land Office. 
The first withdrawal recommended by the Geological Survey was 
made in 1907. For years the Survey had been doing geologic work 
in the oil fields of California. Its geologists, studying the conditions 
of the oil industry as well as the geology and occurrence of oil, 
early became convinced that unless preventive steps were taken a 
great amount of fraud would be perpetrated and oil development 
would be seriously hindered by attempts to obtain oil lands through 
nonmineral entries. The withdrawal of certain lands was accord- 
ingly recommended, and on August 15, 1907, the Acting Secretary 
of the Interior approved the recommendation and the withdrawal 
became effective. In 1908 several withdrawals were made in Cali- 
fornia for the same purpose, and a withdrawal was also made in the 
Caddo field of Louisiana pending an investigation as to possible 
means of preventing the enormous waste of natural gas then taking 
place in that field. 

Within a short time it became apparent that the situation was only 
partly covered by withdrawing oil lands from agricultural entry. 
The inadequacy of the placer law and its inapplicability to oil lands 
was clearly recognized. The law was framed to apply to solid min- 
erals; when applied to fluids, such as oil and gas, it at once led to 
many abuses. Drilling along the boundaries of one claim in order 
to draw off oil or gas beneath a neighboring claim forced activity in 
drilling which resulted in production far greater than the demands 
of the market. The requirement of discovery as a prerequisite to 
title also forced development and overproduction. It became more 
and more apparent that oil and gas should be disposed of in terms of 
barrels or cubic feet rather than in terms of acres. These consider- 
ations, together with the advisability of retaining a supply of fuel 
oil for the use of the Navy, caused the Geological Survey to urge the 
suspension of all forms of entry on Government oil lands pending 
the enactment of new legislation by Congress. In consequence Sec- 
retary of the Interior Ballinger on September 27, 1909, withdrew 
from all forms of entry, location, or disposition all public lands 
believed to contain valuable deposits of oil or gas. As information 
has since been obtained indicating other public lands to be valuable 
for these minerals, they also have been withdrawn from all forms of 



HISTOKY AND LEGAL BASIS. 39 

disposition under the mineral or nonmineral land laws. Field ex- 
amination has shown that certain lands so withdrawn are not val- 
uable for their oil or gas deposits, and they have been promptly 
restored to public entry. In one State, Utah, the surface of the 
lands so withdrawn is open to agricultural entry. 

A number of bills providing for the disposal of oil and gas deposits 
have been introduced in Congress, but none have yet been enacted 
into law, so that the petroleum withdrawals continue in force and 
new ones are being made as occasion arises. The need of the Navy 
for a supply of fuel oil has recently been more strongly recognized, 
the battleships last authorized being designed to burn oil exclusively. 
Fully to insure the Nation an adequate supply of fuel oil two naval 
petroleum reserves aggregating 68,249 acres and estimated to contain 
at least 250,000,000 barrels of oil have been created in the San Joaquin 
Valley fields of California, one under date of September 2, 1912, and 
the second under date of December 13, 1912. 

PHOSPHATE LANDS. 

Phosphate lands, like oil lands, are withdrawn because of the in- 
adequacy of existing law to dispose of phosphate. Only within 
comparatively recent years has it been known that important phos- 
phate deposits exist on the public domain, but as soon as such de- 
posits were discovered conflicts arose between entrymen under the 
placer law and entrymen under the lode law. As a matter of fact 
neither lode law nor placer law is fitted to phosphate deposits, which 
occur as sedimentary beds interstratified with barren rocks in a 
manner identical with that in which coal occurs. The placer law 
provides for the disposition of all forms of deposit except rock in 
place. The western phosphate deposits are clearly rock in place. 
Moreover, some of them lie at great depth and are as difficult to mine 
as coal or any other solid mineral. It is clear that the placer law is 
not logically applicable to these deposits. Under the lode law a vein 
which outcrops within the limits of a claim may be followed to in- 
definite depths and distances so long as the end lines of the claim are 
not crossed. A phosphate deposit is essentially an interstratified 
bed, some deposits extending for many miles and being involved in 
great folds and undulations. The application of the apex law to 
such deposits would assuredly result in great confusion. For in- 
stance, if two sets or series of lode claims are located along the Cat- 
crop of a bed of phosphate that occupies a geologic basin and 
outcrops around its margin, one set of claimants on one side, the other 
on the opposite side, each set of claimants might be entitled to the 
bed throughout its extent from outcrop to outcrop. Thus the same 
property might be disposed of to two separate claimants, each of 
whom would have a good title. It is obvious that the lode law, under 



40 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

which such a condition is possible, is not suited to the disposition of 
phosphate deposits. 

Still another consideration led to the withdrawal of phosphate 
lands. Agriculture in the United States is comparatively young, so 
that the exhaustion of lands from long-continued use has not yet 
begun to be generally felt. In a large part of Europe, however, phos- 
phate fertilization has become an economic necessity, and as a result 
the greater part of the phosphate mined in this country is being ex- 
ported. It has seemed to many students of the situation that the 
United States should not part with a deposit so vital to its agricul- 
tural future. Pending consideration of this question by Congress, as 
well as the enactment of laws more applicable than the lode and placer 
laws, the first phosphate withdrawal was made by the Department 
of the Interior on December 9, 1908. Other withdrawals have been 
made from time to time as additional valuable deposits of phosphate 
have been discovered. Since the first withdrawal the known area of 
phosphate lands has been greatly increased by the explorations of 
the Geological Survey, and the reserves now include lands in Wyo- 
ming, Idaho, Utah, Montana, and Florida. 

POTASH LANDS. 

The agricultural industry of the United States has begun to feel 
the need for the rejuvenation of lands by the application of potash. 
All of this mineral heretofore used, in manufacturing as well as 
in agriculture, has been imported from Germany. A threatened 
termination of the supply from that source by the German Gov- 
ernment lent acute interest to the question whether or not potash 
deposits are to be found in the United States, and on March 4, 1911, 
Congress appropriated $20,000 for research and exploration for pot- 
ash deposits by the Geological Survey. This appropriation was re- 
newed the following year. Promising indications have been dis- 
covered, exploration work is being actively continued, and three areas 
have been found where the existence of potash salts warrants with- 
drawal of the lands. The first potash withdrawal covered one of 
these areas and was made on January 16, 1913. It is the present 
intention to recommend the withdrawal of all valuable deposits 
found and all lands in which there is a reasonable probability of the 
occurrence of valuable potash, these withdrawals to remain in force 
until Congress has provided more appropriate legislation than the 
existing placer law. 

METALLIFEROUS MINERAL LANDS. 

An unusual type of withdrawal, designated " Mineral-land with- 
drawal No. 1," was made in Arizona by the President on September 
23, 1912. It covers an area in which investigations made by the Geo- 



HISTORY AND LEGAL BASIS. 41 

logical Survey show geologic conditions favorable to the occurrence 
of deep-seated deposits of copper. The deposits in this district are 
of such nature that no surface discovery, such as is required by the 
lode law, can be made. As a result valid locations can not be made 
upon the lands until valuable minerals have been discovered therein, 
either by deep drilling or deep shafting. There was danger that 
before either of these types of prospecting could be completed at- 
tempts would be made to obtain title to the lands by means of State 
selections or other nonmineral entries. Accordingly the President 
directed that the area be included in a withdrawal. By the terms of 
the withdrawal act the withdrawn lands are open to exploration and 
purchase under the mining laws, so far as they apply to metallif- 
erous minerals. Thus the lands are reserved for exploration as to 
their metalliferous value but are not open to other forms of entry. 

"WATER-POWER SITES. 

In messages to Congress during 1908 and 1909 President Roose- 
velt called attention to the danger of an uncontrolled monopoly of 
water-power development and to the desirability of preventing 
power sites on the public domain from falling into the hands of 
speculators and monopolists. As early as February 26, 1908, in a 
message transmitting a report of the Inland Waterways Commis- 
sion, he advocated legislation providing for the leasing of such sites 
rather than their alienation. The report of the Inland Waterways 
Commission contains the following statement: 

Wherever water is now or will hereafter become the chief source of power, 
the monopolization of electricity from running streams involves monopoly of 
power for the transportation of freight and passengers, for manufacturing, 
nnd for supplying light, heat, and other domestic, agricultural, and municipal 
necessities to such an extent that unless regulated it will entail monopolistic 
control of the daily life of our people in an unprecedented degree. 

Since that time President Taft, Senator Burton, Secretaries Gar- 
field, Fisher, and Stimson, and many others have advocated a revi- 
sion of the laws pertaining to lands valuable for water powers and 
have especially urged the retention of their control by the United 
States. 

In the winter of 1908 and 1909, under the direction of President 
Roosevelt and Secretary Garfield, a number of withdrawals were 
made covering streams in the Rocky Mountain and Pacific coast 
States on recommendation of the Reclamation Service. These orders 
of withdrawal covered wide areas, and as the best agricultural lands 
in the West are in the vicinity of streams, a great deal of popular 
discontent and criticism followed. Secretary Ballinger, soon after 
his appointment, ordered the restoration of all the withdrawn lands, 
and many such restorations were made, mainly in the latter part of 



42 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

March and the early part of April, 1909. On April 23, 1909. Secre- 
tary Ballinger directed the Geological Survey to make an investiga- 
tion of water-power sites on the public domain and to recommend as 
early as possible any withdrawals necessary to protect them pending 
the enactment of legislation to be recommended by the President. 
The first withdrawal under this order was recommended by the 
Survey on May 3, 1909, and approved by Secretary Ballinger on the 
following clay, Since then many such power-site withdrawals have 
been made, so that at the present time it is believed that the greater 
number of the valuable power sites on the public domain are with- 
drawn from entry pending legislation by Congress for their ap- 
propriate disposal. The available information does not indicate that 
there is now in existence any all-inclusive, nation-wide water-power 
trust such as has been feared by students of the situation.' Certain 
powerful and far-sighted interests have, however, made very deter- 
mined attempts to acquire control of valuable sites in advance of 
the possibility of developing a market for the power that might be 
produced. The passing of these strategic points from public owner- 
ship would seriously impair the control by public authority of water- 
power operations, which are inherently monopolistic. As soon as 
the Survey obtains knowledge of such sites their withdrawal is rec- 
ommended. Field examinations have shown that certain areas with- 
drawn were not so valuable as had at first been supposed and these 
have been promptly restored. 

RESERVOIR SITES. 

Reference has already been made to the act of 1888 (25 Stat., 527) 
and to the fact that certain tracts specially valuable for the con- 
struction of reservoirs were segregated under that act and still re- 
main withdrawn pending their restoration by Congress. In its study 
of the water resources of the public domain the Survey found that 
attempts were being made to obtain possession of advantageous reser- 
voir sites, not for the purpose of development but for some inferior 
use or for speculation. Pending legislation by Congress which would 
make such acquisition impossible a number of reservoir-site with- 
drawals have been made, the first one having been recommended by 
the Survey on January 13, 1911, and approved by President Taft on 
January IT, 1911. 

PUBLIC WATER RESERVES. 

In the great semiarid grazing areas of the West watering places 
are few and the range is, in places, monopolized by control of the 
water holes. It has been common practice for a stock owner to file 
some form of land scrip or State selection upon all the springs in a 
district and thereby to exclude all other stock owners from the dis- 



HISTOEY AND LEGAL BASIS. 43 

trict as effectually as if he owned every acre of it. In most places 
the public range of the West is greatly overcrowded and the com- 
petition for possession of the water holes has been exceedingly 
bitter, with the advantage in favor of the large owner, on account 
of his greater ability to purchase land scrip. Exclusion from the 
watering places has ruined more than one stock grower and vio- 
lence has not infrequently accompanied the struggle for their pos- 
session. This condition of affairs led members of the Land Office 
and of the Survey to urge that the watering places on the public 
range be retained in Government ownership and thrown open to 
the use of all comers. The possibility of the passage by Congress 
of a grazing law added to the advisability of such withdrawals. 
The present conditions on the public range are by no means sat- 
isfactory. They give undue advantage to the large stock raiser 
and are resulting in the deterioration and in many areas the ruin 
of the range. Several bills have been introduced in Congress pro- 
viding for Government supervision of grazing under a leasing sys- 
tem. If such a law is passed it is highly important that a sufficient 
number of watering places to permit the administration of leases 
should remain in Government ownership. On March 29, 1912, pub- 
lic water reserve No. 1 was recommended by the Survey and approved 
by the President. Other public water reserves are being created as 
rapidly as field data can be considered. 

WITHDRAWAL ACTS. 

The early coal, oil, phosphate, and power-site withdrawals were 
made by the Secretary of the Interior in the exercise of his executive 
discretion and without specific authority granted by Congress. The 
right of the Executive Department to make land withdrawals has 
been established by numerous court decisions relating to withdrawals 
covering small areas, but as soon as general withdrawals of large 
areas were made interested parties began to question their validity. 
Many claimants asserted their belief in the department's lack of 
authority by proceeding in disregard and contravention of the with- 
drawals. This type of action was especially frequent in the oil 
fields of California and it early became apparent that, unless the 
validity of the withdrawals was clearly established, millions of 
barrels of oil would be taken from withdrawn lands while a decision 
was being obtained from the courts. Accordingly, Congress was 
urged to pass an act confirming the power of the Executive to with- 
draw public lands, and on June 25, 1910, a law was approved en- 
titled "An act to authorize the President of the United States to 
make withdrawals of public lands in certain cases" (36 Stat., 847). 
That this act was merely confirmatory of powers already reposing in 



44 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

the President and his cabinet is shown by the report of the Senate 
Committee on Public Lands, from which the following is quoted : 

The power conferred upon the President by the proposed substitute is a 
power that he has possessed and exercised almost from the inception of our 
public-land system and is a power that he still possesses and exercises. 

The power of the President to reserve public lands from sale and entry 
rests upon various statutes, upon numerous decisions of the courts,, and upon 
long-established and long-recognized usage. 

% sj: :f: % •£ sfc S& 

It is only lately that this power has been doubted and questioned, and the 
object of the proposed substitute is to make it definite and clear beyond all 
dispute that the President possesses this power of withdrawal. 

Immediately after the passage of the act of June 25, 1910, Execu- 
tive orders were issued by the President ratifying, confirming, and 
continuing in full force and effect all outstanding orders of with- 
drawal. Since that date all new withdrawals have been made in 
accordance with the provisions of this act and have been approved 
by the President. 

The act of June 25, 1910, contains several provisions modifying 
preexisting practice. In the first place, it provides that lands which 
are embraced in lawful homestead or desert-land entries made prior 
to the date of withdrawal or on which valid settlement has been made 
and maintained shall be excepted from the force and effect of the 
withdrawal order so long as the entryman or settler continues to 
comply with the law. Thus the effect of an order of withdrawal 
on a preexisting homestead or desert-land entry depends on the 
initial and continued good faith of the entryman, rather than on 
the value of his land for purposes other than that under which 
his entry was made. The second important provision is that the 
rights of any person who at the date of a withdrawal order is a 
bona fide occupant or claimant of oil or gas bearing lands and who 
at that date is in diligent prosecution of work leading to the dis- 
covery of oil or gas shall not be affected or impaired by the order 
so long as diligent prosecution of the work is continued. It is to 
be noted that this provision makes the critical date that of the with- 
drawal order, even though that order was made before the passage 
of the withdrawal act. The department has held that what con- 
stitutes diligent prosecution of work leading to the discovery of oil 
or gas must be decided upon the facts in each case. It is safe to 
assume, however, that many of the subterfuges that have been com- 
monly practiced for the purpose of holding claims will not be con- 
sidered effective against the withdrawal orders. 

Section 2 of the act provided that withdrawn lands should " be open 
to exploration, discovery, occupation, and purchase under the mining- 
laws of the United States so far as the same apply to minerals other 



HISTORY AND LEGAL BASIS. 45 

than coal, oil, gas, and phosphates." There were two serious faults 
in this provision. For one thing, it did not permit the withdrawal 
of lands valuable for other minerals than the four enumerated. 
Thus, when interest in the potash situation became general and the 
desirability of reserving potash lands from entry was perceived it 
was not possible to make the desired withdrawals because of this 
provision in the withdrawal act. Furthermore, advantage was taken 
of this clause to locate valuable power sites as building- stone placers 
and to include oil lands of great value in placer claims located on 
comparatively worthless deposits of gypsum. These conditions led 
the President to urge upon Congress the amendment of the section 
by providing that withdrawn lands should be open to exploration 
and purchase under the mining laws for metalliferous minerals only, 
and on August 24, 1912, Congress so amended the original withdrawal 
act (37 Stat., 497). Public-land withdrawals now segregate lands 
from all forms of entry, location, or disposition except metalliferous 
mineral claims, preexisting homestead and desert-land entries and 
valid settlements, and oil placers on which work is being diligently 
prosecuted at the date of withdrawal. 

SEPARATION ACTS. 

The carrying out of the withdrawal policy for protecting the min- 
eral and water resources of the public domain is in many cases ren- 
dered difficult and embarrassing by the agricultural value of the land 
withdrawn. If valuable water-power or reservoir sites were inva- 
riably valueless for farming, or if mineral and agricultural values 
could not coexist, no hardship would be imposed by and no retarda- 
tion of development would result from the making of withdrawals. 
But some of the best farming lands in the West are underlain by 
coal or phosphate, and some are so situated as to be of strategic 
importance in power development. Any hindrance to bona fide home 
building or other agricultural development of the public domain is 
indeed unfortunate, but in order to protect the public's natural re- 
sources Avithdrawals resulting in such hindrance have been neces- 
sary. For certain lands the situation has been relieved by the passage 
of acts separating the surface right from the right to the underlying 
minerals. The first of these acts was that of March 3, 1909 (35 Stat., 
644), which provides that persons who have entered or selected under 
the nonmineral laws lands subsequently classified, claimed, or re- 
ported as being valuable for coal may elect to receive patent to their 
lands by reserving to the United States the coal deposits and the right 
to prospect for and mine them. The act contains a provision for the 
indemnification of the surface owner for damages to his estate by 
prospecting or mining and a further provision that the owner of the 



46 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

surface patent shall have the right to mine coal for his own use prior 
to the disposal of the coal deposits by the United States. This act 
granted relief only for entries or selections antedating withdrawal. 
The act of June 22, 1910 (36 Stat., 583), goes a step further with re- 
gard to coal lands and provides that homestead entries, desert-land 
entries, and Carey Act selections may be made on lands withdrawn 
or classified as coal whenever it is stated in the application that the 
entry is made to obtain title containing a reservation of the coal to 
the United States. In this, as in the previous act, provision is made 
for damages to the surface estate by prospecting or mining. The 
act of April 30, 1912 (37 Stat., 105), extends the act of June 22, 1910, 
to include State selections and isolated tracts. 

An act approved August 24, 1912 (37 Stat., 496), provides for the 
entry or selection of withdrawn or classified oil and gas lands in the 
State of Utah, with a reservation to the United States of the oil or 
gas. The provisions of the act are similar to those of the coal act 
of June 22, 1910, and the classes of entries and selections permitted 
are the same as those in that act as amended by the act of April 30, 
1912. 

DESIRABLE NEW LEGISLATION. 

In carrying out its function of classifying the public lands and in 
making its fund of information available in the administration of 
the existing land laws the Geological Survey has become acutely cog- 
nizant of the need for certain new legislation. The laws desired are 
primarily of two types and embody two fundamental necessities — 
first, the extension of the principle of the separation of estates, and 
second, the application of the leasing principle to the disposition of 
natural resources. 

As has already been pointed out, the public lands can not be 
divided into classes each of which is valuable for one purpose only. 
Instead, the same tract of land may be valuable for two or more 
resources. In one tract — for example, agricultural land that is un- 
derlain by coal — both resources may be utilized at the same time 
without interfering with each other. In another tract — for example, 
agricultural land within a reservoir site — the land may be valuable 
for one resource only until it is utilized for another. In the first 
case the problem is so to frame the laws that no resource will be 
forced to await the development of the other. In the second case the 
problem is to permit the use of the land for one purpose pending its 
use for another without losing public control of the development of 
the second. In both cases the answer is found in a separation of 
estates. The extension of this principle, now applied to coal, to 
withdrawn and classified minerals and to the uses of water resources 
would permit the retention of the mineral deposits and power and 



HISTOKY AND LEGAL BASIS. 47 

reservoir sites in public ownership pending appropriate legislation 
by Congress without in any way retarding agricultural development. 
Bills have already been introduced applying this principle to oil in 
other States than Utah and to phosphate in the State of Idaho. It 
is to be hoped that such bills will be passed and approved, or, better 
still, that a comprehensive act providing for the separation of the 
various estates will be introduced and enacted. • 

Nearly every student of the situation is agreed that the leasing 
system is far better than any other for disposing of natural re- 
sources. This conclusion is based partly on the logic of theoretical 
considerations, partly on the experience of other countries, such as 
the Australasian States, and partly on the fact that the leasing system 
is rapidly replacing all others in commercial practice in the United 
States. A single instance may be cited : Over 90 per cent of the oil 
production of the United States in 1911 came from leased lands. In 
the public interest leasing is to be preferred to sale for several reasons. 
In the first place, the sale of mineral lands at appraised values 
per acre presents problems of great difficulty and of uncertain solu- 
tion, because of the number of factors involved. For example, in 
valuing coal lands under the present coal-land law or in valuing 
phosphate lands, should a similar law be enacted for that mineral, 
the items bearing on the value which should be fixed are so numer- 
ous, so difficult to estimate, and so variable that it is well-nigh im- 
possible to arrive at conclusions which give the proper weight to all 
the factors involved. In valuing coal lands the end striven for has 
been to fix prices which shall be low enough to permit purchases for 
immediate development but which shall be high enough to prohibit 
speculative purchases or long-term investments. However, the 
proper consideration of transportation charges, market conditions, 
competing supph r , and cost of labor is affected by so much uncertainty 
that it is difficult to fix a thoroughly satisfactory price for which 
lands should now be sold. When it is considered that the lands are to 
be sold in the indefinite future at the prices fixed nowj the difficulties 
of the task become apparent. None of these difficulties would attend 
in the same degree the administration of a lease law under which 
the coal or phosphate would be paid for at a royalty per ton as 
mined. The fixing of the royalty would be very much simpler than 
the present task. 

Attention has already been called to the inappropriateness of sell- 
ing oil and gas by the acre. The distance within which oil and gas 
may be drawn off by a single well is not definitely known and is, of 
course, variable, but it is at least certain that a well drilled close to 
a property line will draw these minerals from immediately adjoining 
portions of neighboring tracts. Under a leasing law the person re- 
quired to pay for deposits of these minerals would not be the person 



48 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

under whose land they originally occurred but the person from whose 
land they were produced, and the price would be fixed by unit of 
quantity. The fairness of this plan is obvious. 

The uncertainties as to market value of potash and other non- 
metals except coal, oil, gas, and phosphate make the payment of 
a sale price undesirable and the payment for the minerals as mined 
much more advantageous to the producer. In fact; one of the 
main arguments for the leasing as opposed to the sale system, not 
only for potash but for coal, oil, gas, and phosphate as well, is 
that instead of being required to advance the entire price of the land 
at the outset, the payments are made only as the mineral is pro- 
duced, thus enabling the operator to begin operations with a much 
smaller initial investment. This is certainly advantageous to the 
small operator. Moreover, under a lease law the many uncertainties 
which enter into the fixing of sale prices would be eliminated, since 
only the quantity produced would be paid for. 

Probably the present mineral laws are more satisfactory when 
applied to the metals than to the other minerals. Without doubt even 
here a lease law would effect a marked improvement on present prac- 
tice, but if they were modified in three features the laws applicable 
to metalliferous lands would be reasonably satisfactory to the miner 
and to the public at large. In any event, the law of the apex should 
be abolished, the provisions regarding discovery should be modified, 
and the period for which a claim may be held without patenting 
should be limited. Eegarding the first of these points there is little 
need for argument. Mining congresses and bar associations have 
alike recommended the repeal of the apex provision and shown con- 
clusively the detriment which it is and has been to the mining in- 
dustry. That it is possible to do away with it without resultant con- 
fusion is shown by the experience of British Columbia. One point, 
however, should not be overlooked — if the law of the apex is abol- 
ished the width of the claim should be increased in order to assure 
sufficient values to warrant the opening of a mine. 

The requirement that mineral shall be discovered as a prerequisite 
to location is one that works undue hardship to those exploiting deep- 
seated deposits that do not crop out at the surface, such as those 
included in the mineral-land withdrawal in Arizona. Such deposits 
are by no means rare in certain mining districts of the West, and 
the law should be so modified as to provide either for some ade- 
quately safeguarded substitute for discovery or for the protection 
of the miner during the long and expensive prospecting which he 
must carry on before minerals can be discovered. Such protection 
would be best afforded by a provision for a prospecting permit of 
limited duration, to be granted only if the geologic conditions are at 
least moderately favorable for the occurrence of the mineral sought, 



HISTORY AND LEGAL BASIS. 49 

Under the law as it now stands a claim may be held indefinitely 
without an attempt to obtain patent, and so long as the annual as- 
sessment work is performed the claim is secure against adverse 
claimants. Until patent is issued no taxes are assessable by the 
State, and many producing mines refrain from patenting in order 
to avoid taxation. A limit to the number of years that a claim may 
be held pending the institution of patent proceedings would correct 
this abuse. 

It is not only with relation to mineral deposits nor by comparison 
with a sale system that a leasing system is advocated. Leasing 
should replace the present permit system, under which rights of way 
across the public domain are granted for reservoir sites, power devel- 
opment and transmission, and irrigation works. Under the existing 
laws the right of way granted is either in perpetuity or is revocable 
in the discretion of the Secretary of the Interior. Both of these 
conditions are undesirable — the first because the resource passes for- 
ever beyond the direct control of the public, which thus becomes 
powerless to guard against misuse, disuse, or monopoly; the second 
because the capital which is required in the construction of such en- 
terprises is not sufficiently protected. Between the grant in per- 
petuity, which inadequately protects the public, and the revocable 
permit, which inadequately protects the capital invested, lies the 
lease, which adequately protects both. By leasing rights of way for 
a fixed period of years absolute control would periodically return to 
the public, while the investor would be secure for a period long 
enough for his investment to return a profit. 

If a lease law is to be adopted certain provisions should be incor- 
porated in it, whether it is for a single resource or for all. In the 
first place the end to be attained is not revenue for the Government 
but is rather the retention of control in the public. It would be a 
long step backward to return to the early policy of using the public 
lands as a means of Federal revenue, and any lease law enacted 
should be so framed as to encourage development, prohibit specula- 
tion, and add nothing to the cost of the resource to the consumer. 
The States in which the lands are situated should be compensated 
for the loss of taxes which they would suffer from the permanent re- 
tention of the fee to natural resources in the National Government. 
Doubtless the simplest way to accomplish this is to provide that a 
certain percentage of net receipts from leasing shall go to the State 
in which the lands are situated. The term of a lease should be long 
enough to permit profitable investment and development. It should 
not be longer than is necessary to furnish an adequate return on the 
amount invested. 

Whatever action Congress may decide to take regarding the natural 
resources now in public ownership should not be much longer de- 
78804°— Bull. 537—13—4 



50 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

layed. The present withdrawals are a temporary expedient whose 
employment should be rendered unnecessary as soon as possible. It 
can not be economically advantageous to the country to have mil- 
lions of acres of lands^ valuable for petroleum, -phosphate, or potash 
or for power or reservoir sites, absolutely segregated from all forms 
of disposal for an indefinite period. Some of the lands have already 
been so withdrawn for nearly four years. Congress should be fully 
informed concerning all the factors to be considered, but it should 
also act promptly. 

CLASSIFICATION OF MINERAL LANDS. 

FIELD METHODS. 
DEVELOPMENT. 

Since the United States Geological Survey was organized the 
methods it employs in its diverse field investigations have gradually 
become more refined and more precise. If a topographic map made 
by the Survey 20 years ago is compared with one of its recent maps 
the difference will be patent even to the untechnical critic, yet many 
of the important improvements adopted during that period do not 
appear on the map. The closer and more accurate triangulation 
net, the great increase in the numbers of intersected points and of 
level lines, and the general completeness of both vertical and hori- 
zontal control are not directly reproduced on the completed sheet, 
but they have been used in its preparation and give it far greater 
accuracy and expressiveness than the earlier maps. The methods 
employed by the engineers of the water-resources branch and by 
the geologists of the geologic branch have likewise undergone steady 
and consistent development. 

Perhaps nothing in recent years has so directly stimulated the em- 
ployment of more precise methods in field work than the require- 
ments of land classification, and the development here is well ex- 
emplified in the work done by the coal geologists. The law under 
which coal land is classified, unlike the laws controlling the classi- 
fication of lands containing other mineral resources, requires a valu- 
ation of the land. It is therefore especially necessary to trace the 
outcrops of coal beds with exactness and to fix their relations to the 
units of the public-land surveys by precise methods. This has led 
to the introduction of refinements that are not generally considered 
necessary in preparing a geologic folio or in determining the general 
relations of the formations in any region. It is perhaps worth while 
to trace a part of this development of the field methods employed in 
the classification of coal lands, as an example of a general improve- 
ment and as an introduction to a discussion of the methods now 



CLASSIFICATION OF MINERAL LANDS. 51 

generally used by the geologist in the solution of problems of classi- 
fication. 

The acts separating the mineral and agricultural estates of coal 
lands were not passed until 1909 and 1910, so that the withdrawals 
of coal land promulgated prior to that time prevented the initia- 
tion of both homestead rights and coal entry on the same tract. In 
order that this interference with agricultural development might be 
reduced to a minimum, the first examinations were directed toward 
the correction of the withdrawals by the prompt elimination from 
them of the noncoal land. The methods first used, therefore, were 
planned with the idea of covering large areas quickly and did not 
involve a marked departure from reconnaissance methods already in 
vogue, except that it became necessary to tie the investigations as 
closely as possible to such cadastral surveys as existed. One of the 
first methods employed at the beginning of the work of coal-land 
classification in 1906 and 1907 was that of retracing land lines. In 
doing this work the field men rode along the section lines established 
by the General Land Office, using the pocket compass to determine 
direction and horse pacing to measure distance. Coal outcrops along 
the section lines were mapped, the geology was studied in a general 
way, and a sketch of the topography was made. 

In areas in which the absence of satisfactory land corners made it 
necessary to construct a map independently of the Land Office sur- 
veys a different method was adopted. By the use of a 15-inch plane 
table and an open-sight alidade a main or control traverse was run, 
completing a circuit of the field, distances being measured by inter- 
sections from points previously located and altitudes determined with 
an aneroid barometer. The topography and geology were mapped 
by means of a network of secondary traverse lines tied to the primary 
traverse. As the work progressed a more or less complete system of 
triangulation was established which could be used in adjusting the 
main plane-table traverse, and in turn the plane-table traverse served 
to check meander traverse. In running these meander traverses a 
pocket compass was used for obtaining directions, distances were 
measured by pacing, and elevations were determined by aneroid. 
The meander-traverse lines were plotted in the field as the work ad- 
vanced, a small celluloid protractor being used for laying off angles 
and a scale graduated to correspond to the scale of the township 
plats being used for measuring horizontal distances. During the 
field work especial care was taken to locate whatever land corners 
existed, in the hope that these corners would serve as a basis for 
later adjustment of the township and section lines on the map. 

These two methods probably represent fairly the general field 
methods in use during 1906 and 1907, in connection with classifica- 
tion of coal land. Some idea as to the speed attained in this work 



52 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

may be formed from the statement that on an average a township 
(36 square miles) was completed by one man in four days. The fol- 
lowing figures will also give some idea of the effectiveness of these 
methods for the purpose which they were designed to accomplish. 

During the last six months of 1906 the total area withdrawn for 
examination was approximately 66,000,000 acres, and by the close 
of that year, as a result of the field examinations, approximately 
2,000,000 acres had been restored to public entry. During 1907 there 
was an additional preliminary withdrawal of approximately 2,000,000 
acres and by the end of the same year about 34,000,000 acres had been 
added to the restorations. Thus, of the 68,000,000 acres withdrawn 
during the first two years about 36,000,000 acres were restored as 
noncoal land as a result of the rapid methods then used. Had the 
Survey attempted a detailed study of these lands from the beginning, 
there would have been much undesirable delay in the restoration of 
large bodies of noncoal lands to entry. These early relatively inexact 
methods were therefore well adapted to the ends they were designed 
to accomplish. 

The principal areas of coal land having been outlined by recon- 
naissance surveys, attention was next turned to more improved meth- 
ods of field work to meet the constantly growing need for better and 
more detailed classification. The reconnaissance method was then 
replaced by that in which plane table and telescopic alidade are em- 
ployed. The most satisfactory alidade, which was designed by one 
of the geologists engaged in the classification work, is a small instru- 
ment carrying a telescope fitted with cross wires for stadia work and 
a vertical arc for determining differences of altitude. 

The details of method used in plane-table mapping are varied 
according to the topography and the forest conditions of the area 
mapped, as well as according to the condition of the land survey. 
In an area where there have been no land surveys or where those that 
have been made are very poor, the triangulation or station method 
is preferred, but stadia work only is practicable in certain areas — 
for example, heavily wooded districts or regions cut by deep, narrow 
canyons. Either method, however, gives excellent results, for by 
either the coal outcrop is actually traced in the field and the exact 
horizontal and vertical positions are determined for every observa- 
tion. In connection with these precise locations full data are pro- 
cured on the character of the coal. If the region is undeveloped and 
no coal mines or prospect pits are available for examination, open- 
ings are made and sections are measured wherever such work is neces- 
sary to give adequate data for classification. 

Perhaps the most detailed work that is now being done in the 
coal areas is that carried on in those districts where the geologist 
works in conjunction with the topographer. This method results in 



CLASSIFICATION OF MINERAL LANDS. 53 

a reduced cost of the work and a great degree of accuracy in location. 
In work of this kind the geologist usually examines the territory in 
advance of the topographer, prospecting the coal bed and carefully 
marking by means of flags all prospects and coal outcrops which he 
desires the topographer to locate. The topographer, in the course of 
his mapping, determines both the horizontal and the vertical positions 
of all points flagged by the geologist. This work is done instru- 
mentally and with great accuracy, the probable limit of error in 
the horizontal location of any point being less than 20 feet and 
in the vertical location less than 5 feet. With many points on the 
outcrop thus accurately located, underground structure can be de- 
termined with a degree of accuracy that has seldom been attained in 
geologic work. 

With this preliminary statement, it is proposed to set forth briefly 
some of the methods now in use under the various conditions that 
confront the geologist who is assigned to the task of making a mineral 
classification of a specific area. 

A. If he is required to make a detailed survey, he will find one of 
the following conditions existing: 

(a) A topographic base is available. 

(b) A base map is not available but must be made. 

(c) A topographic base is not available and is not essential, the 
land survey sufficing as a base map. 

B. If he is making a preliminary survey only he will use recon- 
naissance methods. 

DETAILED SURVEY. 

METHODS USED WHEN A TOPOGRAPHIC BASE IS AVAILABLE. 

It is desirable that the examination of the mineral deposits in 
regions of especial economic importance be based on an accurate 
topographic map prepared in advance of the geologic examination. 
Such a map, on which are shown the relief by contours of appropri- 
ate intervals, the position and character of the drainageways, and the 
location of land corners, roads, houses, and the bench marks and tri- 
angulation stations established by the topographers, enables the geolo- 
gist to determine by surveyor's methods the location of the numerous 
points at which he makes observations, with a minimum expenditure 
of time and with a degree of precision adequate to the scale of the 
map and the work in hand. The scales which are generally used by 
the Geological Survey in work of this character are about \\ or 2 
inches to the mile, with contour intervals of 10, 20, or 50 feet. The 
degree of accuracy attained in work on such maps is represented by 
the width of a carefully drawn pencil line, or less than 20 feet for lo- 
cations where refined plane-table methods are employed — for example, 
along the outcrop of the coal, oil sand, or phosphate bed — and by a 



54 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS.. 

somewhat variable larger figure for locations requiring a less degree 
of accuracy and made with less precise instruments.^ The actual ele- 
vation of observations along the outcrop of the valuable bed is deter- 
mined with surveying instruments, so that the error is rarely in excess 
of 5 feet, an amount which is practically negligible in mountainous 
regions. In special cases, however, a higher degree of precision is 
attained. 

The information collected by the geologist in the field relates to 
the quality and thickness of the economic deposit, the position of its 
outcrop relative to legal subdivisions, and its depth and accessibility 
where covered. He maps the actual position of the outcrop of the 
coal bed, oil sand, or phosphate bed by making careful locations at 
many points, as described above, and where possible determines the 
attitude of the bed by many careful dip readings with a clinometer 
or by computation from its elevation at several points. He also maps 
the position of the top and bottom of the overlying and underlying 
beds, so that the completed map shows the actual area covered by the 
outcrop of beds of sandstone, limestone, conglomerate^ shale, or such 
other rocks as may be present in the region. He further determines 
the attitude of these rocks and collects typical samples and fossils 
which serve to determine their relative age. Part of this information 
is represented on the map by symbols whose significance is expressed 
in the accompanying legend, and part is recorded in suitable note- 
books for use in the preparation of reports. This information is put 
together in a tabular form showing the normal arrangement of the 
beds, which is technically spoken of as a columnar section. Such a 
section shows the normal distance through the strata from the economic 
bed to the top or bottom of any one of the constantly related overlying 
or underlying beds, and it is used in combination with- the data on the 
outcrop of the overlying rocks in working out the theoretical under- 
ground position of the bed. The methods of making the computation 
are explained in detail in the following discussion of the examination 
of areas for which a topographic base is not available. 

The deposits of present economic importance or of promise for the 
future are sampled at many points where the natural exposures are 
favorable and in other places by means of pits, trenches, or drill holes. 
All the samples from any one deposit are taken by a uniform method 
designed for that kind of material. 

METHODS TJSED WHEN A BASE MAP MUST BE PBEPAKED. 

In the detailed geologic study of an area it is usually necessary to 
construct a map which shall place before the eye of the geologist all 
the available information concerning the area in such space that it 
can be viewed as a whole and the correct relations of details compre- 
hended as they could not be on the ground. Such a map to be of 



CLASSIFICATION OF MINERAL LANDS. 55 

the greatest value should show not only geology but surface relief 
and the positions of streams, roads, and houses, with the legal sub- 
divisions of the public-land surveys^ in order that the geology may 
appear in its true relation to surface features. The construction of a 
map giving such details is, strictly speaking, the work of the topog- 
rapher rather than of the geologist, but the latter may be called upon 
to examine an area for which no adequate base map has been prepared 
and he is therefore obliged to construct a map, either contoured or 
plain, on which to record the geology. Such a map may be made by 
the use of various instruments, perhaps the most satisfactory in both 
accuracy and speed being the plane table and the telescopic alidade. 
These instruments used with a system of triangulation are particu- 
larly adapted to open country in which signals can be seen for con- 
siderable distances. In areas where, for various reasons, it is impos- 
sible to sight distant signals the method of stadia traverse is employed, 
the same instruments being used in conjunction with the stadia rod. 

In constructing a map by a system of triangulation, the procedure 
is briefly as follows: 

A base line is measured and the plane table is set up at one end of it 
and properly adjusted so that one edge of the table lies in a north- 
south line. The base line is then plotted on a selected scale, usually 
from 1 to 4 inches to the mile, and sights are taken and lines drawn 
in the direction of monuments on prominent hilltops. The plane 
table is then transferred to the other end of the base line and cor- 
rectly oriented by back sight. Sights are then taken and lines 
drawn in the direction of the monuments sighted from the first sta- 
tion. The intersection of the two lines drawn in the direction of 
each monument establishes its location in relation to the base line as 
indicated on the map. After the various signals are located in a 
certain area the plane table may be set up at any point whose loca- 
tion is not known, and after it is approximately oriented by compass 
sights may be taken to the points already located and the position of 
the instrument determined by lines drawn from the locations of 
these signals on the map. These lines should exactly meet at a point. 
If they do not so meet there is some inaccuracy either in the pre- 
vious work or in the orientation of the plane table. It is thus pos- 
sible to keep a close check on the work and points may be located 
as accurately as the scale of the map allows. 

On a scale of 2 inches to the mile a distance of 10 feet would be 
represented by the width of a fine pencil line, and it is not possible 
to plot a distance of, say, 5 feet. A distance of 10 or 15 feet, how- 
ever, is perceptible, and locations may be accurately made within 
such distances. If the scale is increased to 4 inches to the mile the 
error in the location of a point should not exceed 10 feet. After 
the primary signals are established over the township the base map 



56 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

and the geologic map may be constructed simultaneously — that is, 
in tracing the exposures of some particular bed, such as a coal or 
phosphate bed or an oil sand, the geologist may sketch in the roads 
or streams or topographic features near which his instrument happens 
to be set. 

In mapping a particular area geologically as many points are 
located as are necessary for the degree of accuracy desired on the 
map. In critical parts of an oil field, where all dip readings are 
located by the plane table, observations may be taken every 400 or 
500 feet, but in parts of the area outside of the probable extent of 
the oil pool dip readings taken every mile may be amply sufficient if 
the dip is regular. Places at which fossils are collected are marked 
on the map and also places at which rock specimens and coal, phos- 
phate, or oil samples are taken, as well as localities where sections 
of the beds or other geologic observations are made. In the con- 
struction of such a map any land corners that may be found are 
located from the signals previously established, just as rock out- 
crops and other features of interest are located. The land net is 
afterward drawn in from the corners which have been found, and 
any inaccuracies and irregularities in the old surveys will thus be 
detected. In land classification the tracts are always described with 
reference to these surveys, so it is very essential to locate as many of 
the corners as possible in order that the position of the land lines 
may be accurately known. The time required to construct a map 
of this kind varies greatly with the nature of the country and the 
character of the geology. One man can, as a rule, establish primary 
control over a township in one to three days, the time required being 
dependent entirely on the number of locations made and the nature 
of the country traversed. 

The method of locating important rock outcrops by stadia traverse 
may be successfully employed in conjunction with location by trian- 
gulation, or it may be used alone without triangulation. In running 
a traverse with stadia the instrument man can not work alone but 
must employ the services of a rodman. The plane table is set at some 
known point, the stadia rod is held on the point whose location is de- 
sired, and the direction from the point occupied to the other point is 
drawn on the map by means of the alidade. The distance is read by 
means of the stadia and platted on the map by the use of a scale, 
in the direction already recorded ; this locates the second point. The 
instrument is then transferred to a third point, the location of which 
is determined by a reversal of the method used in locating the second. 
The rod is then moved ahead and the process is repeated. Such 
a method is most useful when a coal or phosphate bed or an oil sand 
is to be outlined in great detail or when the work is done in deep 



CLASSIFICATION OF MINERAL LANDS. 57 

valleys or canyons from which it is difficult to sight triangulation 
signals. 

In the above description no mention has been made of the method 
of determining elevations, which in much of the work are of great 
importance. With a telescopic alidade the angle of elevation or de- 
pression from one point to another can be accurately determined. 
This angle being known and the distance between the two points be- 
ing measured with a scale from the locations of the points on the map 
or by reading a stadia rod, the problem resolves itself into the solu- 
tion of a right- angle triangle in which one side and one of the acute 
angles are known, the side to be determined representing the vertical 
distance between the two points, or, in other words, the difference of 
elevation between them. The altitude of a starting point being 
known or assumed, it is possible to calculate the altitude of any num- 
ber of points in any direction from it. Elevations determined by this 
method are not absolutely exact but are of sufficient accuracy for 
most purposes of geologic mapping. In ordinary practice they are 
correct within 5 or 6 feet, but with certain refinements of work the 
error can be reduced to 1 foot or even less. 

It is advantageous to represent on a map in some manner the form 
of the rock folds, which may or may not correspond to the surface re- 
lief. Ordinarily surface relief is represented on a contour map by lines 
drawn to indicate definite elevations above sea level, one line, for ex- 
ample, at 4,000 feet, the next at 4,100 feet, the next at 4,200 feet, and 
so on. These lines not only show the configuration of the surface but 
also give approximately the elevation of any point within the area 
thus mapped. It is possible to contour in the same way the surface 
of an oil-bearing sandstone or a coal or phosphate bed which has 
been bent into a fold. Such contours are known as structure con- 
tours. They bear no necessary relation to surface relief. In fact, 
a valley may occupy the axis of an anticline or a ridge the axis of a 
syncline. 

Sedimentary beds deposited one above another during a period in 
which there has been no earth movement are parallel — that is, if 
one sandstone so deposited is 2,000 feet above another at one place 
it is probably 2,000 feet above the other 1 mile or 5 miles away. If 
since their deposition the beds have been tilted from the horizontal, 
the dip of a bed at the surface in general represents the dip of the 
beds below it. If a certain oil-bearing sandstone dips 5° E. where 
it appears at the surface and overlying beds of the same formation 
outcropping east of the exposure of the first bed also dip 5° in the 
same direction, it is probable that the first bed and all intermediate 
beds have the same dip in this area also. A dip of 1° is equivalent 
to about 92 feet in a mile, and a dip of 5° to about 460 feet in a mile. 



58 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

Therefore a bed that dips 5° E, under a horizontal plain is 460 feet 
beneath the surface at a point 1 mile east of the outcrop. 

If it appears from surface exposures of the overlying rocks that 
the dip is not constant, allowance must be made for the variations 
in the calculation. In areas in which drilling has been carried on 
the records of the wells are invaluable as giving accurately the depths 
of beds beneath the surface, thus checking the deductions from sur- 
face evidence. 

The locations of structure contours are based on a variety of data. 
If a well whose altitude at the surface is 4,000 feet strikes an oil sand, 
for example, at a depth of 1,000 feet, it is evident that the 3,000-foot 
contour on the oil sand passes through the location of this well on 
the map. If the rocks dip toward the east and a sandstone known 
to be 2,000 feet above the oil sand outcrops half a mile east of the 
well at an altitude of 4,500 feet, the oil sand should be at this point 
2,500 feet above the sea, or, in other words, the 2,500-foot contour 
should pass through the location of this sandstone outcrop on the 
map. If the dip of the rocks exposed at the surface is constant be- 
tween the mouth of the well and the outcrop of the sandstone it indi- 
cates that probably the oil sand dips regularly to the east between 
these points, and the contours of 2,600, 2,700, 2,800, and 2,900 feet 
may be spaced evenly between the 2, 500- foot contour at the sandstone 
outcrop and the 3,000-foot contour at the well. Should the dip, as 
indicated by the surface exposures, be irregular between the two 
points, the contours are spaced accordingly, being placed nearest 
together where the dip is greatest and farthest apart where the dip 
is least. 

After a structure-contour map is completed it is possible to esti- 
mate from it the depth of a bed of economic importance at any 
required point, if the surface altitude of the point is known. 

METHODS FOLLOWED WHEN THE LAND OFFICE STJRVEY AFFORDS A BASE MAP. 

More than half of the coal land still owned by the Government 
lies in the rather sparsely settled plains region which has not been 
mapped topographically but has been covered by the cadastral sur- 
veys of the General Land Office. For such land, a topographic map 
not being essential, a method of survey different in some ways from 
those described above has been adopted. Plane table, telescopic 
alidade, and stadia rod are used as in the other work, but the results 
of the surveys made by the General Land Office are used as a base 
for the work, and the township forms a unit, the results being suffi- 
ciently detailed and accurate to permit classification by legal sub- 
divisions. As previously stated, some of these surveys are not accu- 
rate, but they are official and in general they provide a suitable base 



CLASSIFICATION OF MINERAL LANDS. 59 

for the survey. Locations and measurements are therefore accepted 
as recorded on the Land Office plats unless the field work proves 
them to be in error. 

If a preliminary examination of the township to be surveyed 
shows that it contains only a few isolated outcrops of coal beds and 
no continuous exposures, the geologist locates the outcrops by tri- 
angulation and sketches their inferred locations. For the triangula- 
tion two convenient land corners are selected from which to begin 
work, and for a base line the distance given on the land plats is used, 
it being assumed that this distance has been correctly determined 
in the land surveys. The corners thus selected are located on a 
plane-table sheet, and from them other triangulation stations are 
established over the field and their elevations determined by vertical 
angles, as already described. After enough points to control the 
work in the township have been established the geologist makes a 
detailed examination of the coal. He goes to each outcrop and digs 
or bores through the bed to learn the thickness of each bench of 
coal and of each parting and to obtain samples of the coal for stud}' 
or analysis. 

After the bed has been examined and the dip of the strata has been 
measured the position of the outcrop is located on the plane-table, 
sheet and the elevation determined. 

The examination of the coal bed is most important. It must be 
made carefully and accurately. Each geologist who surveys coal 
]and is told that " every inch of the bed must be critically examined." 
If the inspection shows that the coal may contain more than the 
normal percentage of impurities a representative sample is selected 
and taken to camp, where an ash test is made with a small portable 
chemical outfit. If there are mines in the area a sample is procured 
according to the prescribed method (see p. 106) and is sent to the 
chemical laboratory for analysis. The strata in which the coal is 
found are also carefully examined to obtain any additional infor- 
mation they may give concerning the depth and continuity of the 
coal beds where they are covered. 

The triangulation method of location described above suffices in 
areas where there are only a few small outcrops of coal beds, but in 
townships which contain more than a few outcrops or in which the 
beds can be traced the outcrops must be accurately located by stadia 
traverse in addition to the triangulation. If the triangulation and 
stadia work are done properly, locations should be correct within 20 
feet and elevations within 5 feet. 

In work of this kind the surveyor traverses the outcrop of the coal 
bed and with the aid of an assistant and instruments he locates 
points at short intervals along the line of outcrop and sketches its 
position between these points. All such locations are tied to land 



60 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

corners accurately with instruments, and the elevation of each point 
is ascertained, so that the underground relations of the bed can be 
determined. 7 

The number of sections measured along the. outcrop of the bed de- 
pends on the local conditions. If the bed is variable it must be ex- 
amined at short intervals, but if it is regular the measurements may 
be made farther apart. Some records show measurements only 50 
feet apart, whereas others are half a mile or more, though a shorter 
distance is recommended. There is no definite number of measure- 
ments to the township. In some townships few are made, whereas 
in others there are as many as a hundred. 

At the same time that the geologist is examining the field he pro- 
cures any information which may have been obtained by miners, pros- 
pectors, well drillers, or others making excavations. Such informa- 
tion ordinarily consists of records of wells, drill holes, and mine 
shafts, mine maps, both exterior and interior, records of production 
and use, etc., and is of great value in the proper classification of the 
land. 

This method may be applied equally well to materials other than 
coal if they occur in or in a definite relation to stratified beds, and 
with modifications it may be and is adapted to less regular deposits 
of metalliferous minerals. Its chief application, however, in actual 
Survey practice is in the coal fields of the plains region, where the 
recent and more accurate Land Office plats are available as bases. 

RECONNAISSANCE SURVEY. 

Reconnaissance surveys are ordinarily only preliminary and those 
made for purposes of classification are intended to determine the 
general distribution of the mineral deposits in areas which have not 
been described by geologists or which may have been examined only 
casually or with some other problem in mind than that of dis- 
covering minerals of economic value. If no reliable information is 
at hand concerning an area containing public land, a geologist makes 
a reconnaissance to determine the best method of work to be followed 
if minerals are found. 

The method of reconnaissance varies with the character of the 
country to be examined. If the country is suitable for the use of the 
plane-table method of surveying, the geologist uses that method. He 
proceeds in the manner already described but on a smaller scale and 
with less detail. If the country can be readily crossed and little accu- 
racy is required, the geologist starts with an assistant and travels by 
buggy to the points to be examined. He determines his location from 
traverses based on hand-compass readings to give direction and on 
counted revolutions of the buggy wheel to give distance. These 
traverses are tied to known points wherever possible, and the inter- 



CLASSIFICATION OF MINERAL LANDS. 61 

mediate locations are adjusted from them. If the country can not be 
crossed in a vehicle, the geologist goes on horseback or on foot and 
determines direction as before and distance by counting the number 
of paces taken by horse or man. This method gives considerable 
accuracy in location and provides an adequate basis for determining 
the general mineral or nonmineral character of an area. 

State or county maps furnish locations for the geologist on some 
reconnaissance trips. When working with such a map he starts 
from a town, post office, or some point shown on the map and proceeds 
toward some other point also shown. To obtain his location at inter- 
mediate points he estimates distance and direction and records his 
observations with regard to the estimated locations. This method is 
seldom used, because of its inaccuracy, and it is never used to procure 
final data for land classification. It was found applicable to condi- 
tions in one of the Western States where large areas were withdrawn 
on the basis of a report that later proved to be erroneous. In this 
State the general reconnaissance proved the area to contain no coal 
of value ; hence no careful examination was required. 

PUBLIC -LAND SURVEYS. 

Public-land surveys made by the General Land Office result in the 
official township maps which are the basis of all land titles and to 
which, therefore, all data on land classification must finally be ad- 
justed. The system now in use was adopted in essentially its present 
form in 1785. Under this system a certain initial point is first se- 
lected through which a north-south line, called a principal meridian, 
and an east-west line, called a base line, are run. At successive inter- 
vals, usually 24 miles, north and south of the base line standard 
parallels or correction lines are established parallel to the base, and 
similarly at intervals east and west of the principal meridian guide 
meridians are established. Because of the convergence of meridians 
toward the poles these guide meridians are not parallel to the prin- 
cipal meridian but approach it toward the north. In order to 
correct this narrowing the guide meridians are offset at each stand- 
ard parallel and started anew northward at their original dis- 
tance apart. The quadrilateral thus defined is subdivided into 
townships, each approximately 6 miles square, and each township in 
turn is divided into 36 sections 1 mile square. Each section is fur- 
ther subdivided into quarters, and each of these is held to contain 
four 40-acre tracts, or quarter-quarters, the smallest commonly recog- 
nized legal subdivision of the public-land system. Appropriately 
marked monuments are set at all township and section corners and at 
the middle points of the side lines of sections, thus indicating the 
limits of the quarter sections. Posts indicating the quarter-quarters 
are not set, but this unit, and indeed in special cases smaller units of 



62 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

10-acre or even 2J-acre tracts, may be recognized in land classifica- 
tion. 

This general plan, where properly carried out, is simple and effec- 
tive and has furnished a satisfactory basis for land records and titles 
for more than a century and a quarter. Its execution, however, has 
not in all localities been satisfactory. For a great many years the 
work was done by contract under State surveyors general, despite 
the repeated and urgent requests of many Commissioners of the Gen- 
eral Land Office for authority to do the work directly. In earlier 
years the contracts were sometimes distributed as rewards for po- 
litical services, and the inspections were not always of a character 
to guard against the acceptance of inadequate surveys. Some of the 
contracts were obtained by honest men who did their work well, but 
others fell to inefficient or dishonest contractors who made poor sur- 
veys or none at all, although they prepared township plats which 
were submitted under oath as to their accuracy and which were ac- 
cepted. In the older fraudulent surveys of this type all sorts of 
errors and omissions are encountered. In certain localities no monu- 
ments can be found and there is every reason to believe that the lines 
were never run. In other localities the work was done so carelessly 
that the corner posts are found far from the proper locations. The 
General Land Office, under the contract system, required that monu- 
ments were to be made of stone wherever it could be procured, but 
the use of wooden posts was permitted in other places. In some lo- 

aties where advantage was taken of this permission the stakes set 
were so small or so poorly fixed in position as to constitute merely a 
nominal observance of the requirements, and many of the stakes thus 
set have disappeared. 

Within recent years the Land Office has adopted the plan of mark- 
ing corners permanently by deep-set iron posts and has been au- 
thorized by Congress to make surveys directly instead of by contract. 
These modern surveys provide a highly satisfactory basis for land 
titles, and some of the special surveys made on the Indian reserva- 
tions by a combination of cadastral and topographic methods are 
models of complete and satisfactory base mapping. 

For purposes of land classification it is imperative that the data 
procured by the geologist shall be tied to the land net because his 
classifications must be expressed in terms of the public-land surveys. 
Furthermore, these identifications must be exact, because it may oc- 
casionally be necessary to estimate values of the public lands in tracts 
of 40 acres, 10 acres, or even 2J acres. It is obvious that in such cases 
the land lines must have been accurately run and the corners suffi- 
ciently well established to permit undoubted identification. In a few 
places classification has been impossible because the land lines could 
not be found and the official surveys could therefore not be identified. 



CLASSIFICATION OF MINERAL LANDS. 



63 



PREPARATION" OF DATA FOR CLASSIFICATION. 

The geologist, on returning to the office from a field examina- 
tion of land for the purpose of classification, informally presents to 
the appropriate section of the board a general outline of his work, 
the area covered, and the problems met. Thereupon the section de- 
cides the particular form of map and report desired. The essential 
factor in determining in just what form the data shall be submitted 
is the requirement that all pertinent facts determined by the field 
investigator shall be recorded and that the finished report shall be 
as accurate as the field work in location and interpretation. The 
importance of accuracy and completeness becomes apparent when it 
is realized that the record once submitted must form the basis not 



Resurvey T. 19 N., R. 105 W. of the Sixth P.M., Wyoming 



Coat land price 
not fixed because 
Genera/ land Office 
record's show it to he 
in private ownership 



Replacing plat 
transmitted by 
Geological Survey 
September 8, 1909 



large f/gures 
give price in 
dollars per acre 



30 40 

'JoTJ 



20 30 
-20- 
30\40 



40\50 

-29— 

50 



90 105 /2S 125 220 240 235290 350M5 



Coat land within 
Iti-mi/e limit 

tf.«- 

Figure 1. — Township map showing classification and valuation of coal lands. 



90 105 /3S 125 130 175 



735 /SO\230,275 



/85 235U85 335 395 



_Z 



320370 
325375 



330385 40(7390 



340 405400 395 



<«L. 



-rt 



Q--; 



Acres 

Coal, priced 13,819 

Coal, not priced 6,634 

/Von. coal 2,775 

Total 23,208 



As given 
Minimum 



"1,773,289 
276.381 



I classify and 
price the land 
in this township 
as shown fere^n 




U.S. Geological Survey 
May 28, 1910 



only for the classification of the land as mineral or nonmineral, a 
classification which may affect the interests of a large number of 
people, but also, in the case of coal land, for valuations aggregating 
millions of dollars. As an example, a copy of a township classifica- 
tion and valuation plat as transmitted to the General Land Office is 
given in figure 1. In June, 1912, private individuals purchased from 
the Government sec, 12 of this township, for which they paid the 
classified price as shown, amounting to over a quarter of a million 
dollars. 

In general the data are compiled by the field geologist from his 
original maps and notes in two forms. The first consists of a small- 
scale map with an accompanying general report presenting the re- 
sults of a study of the whole field, In this report the geologist dis- 
cusses the stratigraphy and structure of the field as well as the oc- 



64 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

currence of economically important minerals. On the map accom- 
panying this report most of the finer details are omitted and only 
geologic formations and the outcrops of coal, phosphate, or oil sands 
are shown. The general report on a field contains a description of 
all that is known of the physical and chemical properties of the 
minerals occurring in that field. This report then serves as a basis for 
a set of general minutes, in which the appropriate section of the board 
outlines the application of the regulations governing the classifica- 
tion of lands containing those minerals to that particular field. 
After the general report has been considered by the proper section 
and the general minutes have been written, the field geologist pre- 
pares the classification data and in the case of coal land makes the 
valuation, under the immediate supervision and with the assistance 
of some member of the coal section of the board. Later the record 
is reviewed and passed on in detail by the entire section. Each 40- 
acre tract, and sometimes even each 2^-acre tract, is considered indi- 
Addually and all facts affecting its classification as mineral or non- 
mineral are weighed. A report of the proceedings of the section for 
each township is prepared, giving in detail the result of the classifi- 
cation and the reasons therefor. This report becomes part of the 
permanent records of the land-classification board. 

Detailed reports on each township examined, with accompanying 
large-scale maps, constitute the second form of data. These are pre- 
pared in addition to the general report for all areas on which the 
smaller-scale map will not suffice for classification. On these large- 
scale township maps every feature that is possible of cartographic 
portrayal is represented — the outcrops, dips, and measured thick- 
nesses of all coal or phosphate beds or oil sands, all mines, prospects, 
or lodes, the location of these features with respect to established 
land lines, and, if essential, the topography of the surface. Each 
map is supplemented by a description which gives the dates and 
methods of field work, the condition of land surveys, the proximity 
to railroads, and a discussion of the geology. In the valuation of 
coal land all calculations by which the price per acre for each tract 
has been derived are given in detail. 

These reports and maps are all permanently mounted, arranged 
in order of State, range, and township in loose-leaf locking binders, 
and filed in fireproof steel cases. As new information is acquired, 
from whatever source, with regard to the mineral character of any 
township, it is added in its proper place in the binder. Such in- 
formation consists of reports from field agents of the General Land 
Office, data obtained by members of the Geological Survey on subse- 
quent examinations, affidavits of public-land claimants, and other 
matter. The original field sheets and notebooks are likewise de- 



CLASSIFICATION" OF MINERAL LANDS. 65 

posited in the files of the land-classification board and are always 
readily available for use. Card indexes are maintained covering 
both sets of files. 

COAL LANDS. 

PURPOSE OF CLASSIFICATION. 

By act of March 3, 1873, Congress provided for the sale of coal 
lands belonging to the United States, specifying the conditions of 
sale and the minimum prices. To carry out the act it is necessary 
to determine, first; what lands are coal lands (classification), and 
second, at what price they shall be sold (valuation). To give uni- 
formity to Executive action in this work certain rules have been 
prepared by the Geological Survey and approved by the Secretary 
of the Interior under the title " Regulations for the classification 
and valuation of coal lands." These regulations provide exclusively 
for the classification and valuation of coal lands and are not to be 
confused with the regulations providing for the disposition of coal 
lands issued by the Land Office under the title " Coal-land laws and 
regulations thereunder." It is the province of the Geological Sur- 
vey to determine what lands are underlain by coal within the limits 
set by the classification regulations, and to it has also been assigned 
the work of valuing the lands classified as coal land. Classification 
and valuation must follow three antecedent steps — (1) the adoption 
of regulations formulating the principles and practice which are 
to govern classification and valuation; (2) the field examination to 
determine the presence, position, quality, and other features of the 
coal in the land; (3) the assembling of the field data in such form 
as to facilitate the work of classification and valuation by making 
possible the simultaneous consideration of all the facts. Finally, 
classification and valuation involve a consideration of all the known 
facts to determine what legal subdivisions of land are coal lands 
under the regulations and at what price they shall be sold. 

Preliminary to the detailed consideration either in the field or 
office of any area believed to contain valuable coals the lands 
are withdrawn from entry under the authority of the act of June 
25, 1910 (36 Stat,, 847), as amended by the act of August 24, 1912 
(37 Stat., 497). A typical coal-land withdrawal order is appended 
with the accompanying letter of transmittal : 

Department of the Interior, 

United States Geological Survey, 

Washington, January 21, 1913. 
The honorable the Secretary of the Interior. 

Sir: Information on file in the Survey indicates that the land listed below 
contains valuable deposits of coal, and I therefore recommend the submission to 
78894°— Bull. 537—13 5 



66 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

the President for appropriate action of the following order of withdrawal, 
involving 1,600 acres. 

Very respectfully, Geo. Otis Smith, 

Director. 

January 28, 1913. 
Respectfully referred to the President with favorable recommendation. 

Samuel Adams, 
Acting Secretary. 
Order of Withdrawal. 

Coal-land withdrawal — Montana No. 10. 

Under and pursuant to the provisions of the act of Congress approved June 
25, 1910 (36 Stat, 847), entitled "An act to authorize the President of the 
United States to make withdrawals of public lands in certain cases," as amended 
by act of Congress approved August 24, 1912 (Public No. 316), and subject to 
the provisions of the act of Congress approved June 22, 1910, entitled "An act 
to provide for agricultural entries on coal lands," as amended by the act of 
Congress approved April 30, 1912 (Public No. 141), it is hereby ordered that 
the following-described lands be, and the same are hereby, withdrawn from 
settlement, location, sale, or entry and reserved for classification with respect to 
coal values: 

Montana meridian. 

T. 3 N., R. 3 E., sec. 25, NE. h S* ; 
sec. 26, SE. £; 
sec. 35, E. £; 
sec. 36, all. 

Wm. H. Taft, 

President. 
January 29, 1913. 

METHODS OF CLASSIFICATION. 
PRINCIPLES INVOLVED. 

In preparing the regulations for classification three principles are 
paramount: (1) The regulations must be based on demonstrated 
facts or on well-founded and generally accepted inferences; (2) they 
must be based on all the stable, permanent factors involved; (3) 
they must be as definite yet withal as simple as possible. Ideally the 
regulations should be so simple that anyone at all acquainted with 
the subject could correctly apply them, and they should be so definite 
as to admit of little or no disagreement in interpretation. Neither 
of these ideal requirements can be realized. 

The workability of coal at a given point to-day depends on factors 
of two types. Those of the first type — such as quality, thickness, 
and depth — are intrinsic; those of the second type — such as rail- 
road transportation and markets — are extrinsic. To-day the extrin- 
sic factors may determine absolutely the commercial workability of 
a bed of coal at any locality. A coal bed 75 miles from a railroad 
and 50 miles from the nearest town, no matter how valuable it may 
be some day, has to-day a value that is purely prospective, depend- 
ing on an unknown factor — the time when transportation shall 



CLASSIFICATION OF MINERAL LANDS. 67 

reach it. A new railroad may " make " a coal-mining district by 
opening new markets or may " break " it by bringing in competition 
that it can not meet. To be stable, therefore, the regulations must 
be based directly on the intrinsic factors involved. Tracts classified 
as noncoal land are disposed of as such without further question as 
to their content of coal. Classification should therefore anticipate 
and assume the ultimate coming of conditions favorable for mining 
and marketing any coal if the coal is otherwise workable. 

If an 18-inch coal of a certain grade occurring under certain con- 
ditions is workable in Missouri to-day, hundreds of thousands of 
tons being mined yearly, it would appear to be a reasonable assump- 
tion that a coal of like thickness and quality occurring under similar 
conditions elsewhere will be workable some day and should there- 
fore be classed as a workable coal; especially does this assump- 
tion appear reasonable when it is considered that everywhere the 
tendency is to extend the limits of workability. Coal mining 
has nearly always been conducted on a very close margin. In any 
new field — and most of the coal fields of the West to-day are 
new — only the most accessible, thickest, and best of the coal beds 
can be worked at a profit. Twenty years hence the most accessible 
coal will have been largely mined out and mining will be done on 
coal that is a little less accessible and that costs a little more to 
mine and that necessarily will sell at a little higher price. This 
higher price will permit the mining of other coal — a little thinner 
and a little poorer — which could not be mined profitably to-day, and 
the process will continue until all coal within minable limits is ex- 
hausted. The regulations attempt to define what these minable limits 
are, not in view of the conditions that may exist as the coal supply 
approaches absolute exhaustion, but in view of actual practice to- 
day under favorable conditions of transportation and of market. 

FACTORS INVOLVED. 
ESSENTIALS OF WORKABILITY. 

The workability of any coal will ultimately be determined by two 
offsetting factors — (1) its character and heat-giving quality, whence 
comes its value, and (2) its accessibility, quantity, thickness, depth, 
and other conditions that affect the cost of its extraction. It must 
be considered a workable coal if its value, as determined by its char- 
acter and heat-giving quality, exceeds the cost of extraction, either 
as judged by actual experience at the point where it is found or as 
judged by actual experience on similar coals similarly situated else- 
where. There are no absolute limits to any of the factors. The min- 
ing of 1 inch of coal that may involve the mining of 3 feet of rock is 
physically possible but would not pay. Most unworkable coal beds 



68 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

lack one or more of three things — quality, thickness, accessibility — 
that is, they are too poor, too thin, or too deep. Other things — such 
as poor roof, gas, water, faults, pitch, and lack of timber — may 
render mining difficult and temporarily unprofitable, but most or all 
of them are subject to engineering control. They may depreciate 
the value of the coal and defer its mining but may not make it 
unworkable. 

QUALITY. 

Coal is essentially a fuel. The heat afforded by burning coal is 
derived mainly from its carbon and the hydrogen that is free to 
burn. Associated with these are oxygen, nitrogen, water, and ash. 
A pound of the best coal, which contains about 90 per cent of carbon 
and " available " hydrogen and 10 per cent of the other ingredients, 
will yield from 14,000 to 15,500 British thermal units. A British 
thermal unit ("B. t. u.") is the amount of heat required to raise the 
temperature of 1 pound of water 1° F. under certain standard condi- 
tions. Poorer coals contain larger percentages of noncombustible 
constituents and correspondingly less carbon and available hydrogen, 
and their heating value (in British thermal units or other units of 
measurement) is reduced in much the same ratio. On analysis some 
coals show a content of all impurities that is in excess of the average ; 
others show an excess of ash or water only ; but whether the increase 
is in ash or water, or both, its effect is to decrease the heating value 
of the coal as expressed in B. t. u. Instead, therefore, of specifying 
the maximum quantity of ash or water allowable in a commercial or 
salable coal the regulations fix a minimum value in B. t. u. which will 
cover either one, or any combination of these two or any other impuri- 
ties. The' limit of allowable impurity in a salable coal is affected by 
the facts that very wet coals may be improved by air drying and that 
coals which are very high in ash may usually be improved by washing 
or may, perhaps, be used in a producer-gas plant. The possibility that 
improvements may be devised in the utilization of coal — such as its 
entire utilization at the mine for producing electric power — makes the 
determination of the powest limit of usable quality of coal diffi- 
cult and very uncertain. Again, in a study of the B. t. u. value 
of low-grade coals that are now worked, difficulty is encountered in 
the fact that many of the earlier samples taken were weathered coal. 
On account of the possible improvement of the quality of the coal 
by drying or by washing, the lowest limit of usable quality is fixed 
by analysis of an air-dried sample, and if the coal as obtained in the 
mine contains a very high percentage of ash the possibility of its 
being washed is considered. Analyses of samples of coal cut in the 
mine from unweathered coal, according to the practice of the Geo- 
logical Survey and the Bureau of Mines, indicate that any coal mined 



CLASSIFICATION OF MINERAL LANDS. 69 

commercially in the United States to-day will yield, after being 
washed or air dried, at least 8,000 B. t. u. This figure has therefore 
been fixed as the minimum B. t. u. value of any coal that shall be con- 
sidered workable. In practice the washed product of any coal sub- 
ject to washing must have at least 50 per cent of the weight of the 
unwashed coal. The washability of any coal is determined on a 
sample of one-quarter inch size by a float and sink test,, the liquid 
used having a specific gravity of 1.5. Even if its workability is thus 
indicated in the laboratory it can not be considered workable unless 
there is sufficient water in the field for washing it. 

THICKNESS. 

More coal is unworkable because it is too thin than for any other 
reason. The result of a study of the relative cost of mining in 
relation to the thickness of beds is given on pages 83-86. 

For the purpose of classification a careful study was made of the 
thicknesses of coals that are actually mined in a large commercial 
way. Many of the facts disclosed by this study have been published. 1 
By platting these with reference to the B. t. u. content of the coal it 
became evident that in actual practice coals yielding 10,000 B. t. u. are 
worked with profit down to a thickness of 18 or 19 inches, that coals 
yielding 12,000 B. t. u. are worked down to 14 or 15 inches, and that 
better coals are mined from beds still thinner. Some coals of the quali- 
ties mentioned are mined from beds that are thinner than those noted 
above, but under very exceptional conditions. In considering the low- 
grade coals three special factors must be noted: (1) Most of them 
occur in rocks of more recent age than the others, which have been 
less affected by mountain-making forces and are therefore less indu- 
rated. On this account it is thought that future extensive mining 
may show the frequent necessity of leaving some of the coal for 
roof and of leaving larger pillars. (2) Owing to the air- drying loss 
in very wet coals they are likely to shrink considerably before they 
are marketed. (3) If the low B. t. u. value of these coals is due to 
their high content of ash an allowance should be made for loss in 
washing. For these reasons the minimum thickness for beds of the 
low-grade coals is set much higher in proportion to B. t. u. value than 
for beds of coals of higher grade. 

The minimum minable thickness of bed is fixed at 14 inches for all 
coals having more than 12,000 B. t. u. For coals having less than 
12,000 B. t. u. the minimum minable thickness increases at the rate 
of one-tenth inch for each decrease of 100 B. t. u. down to 11,000, 
then at the rate of one-tenth inch for each 50 B. t. u. down to 10,500, 
then at the rate of one-tenth inch for each 25 B. t. u. from 10,500 

1 Fisher, C. A., Depth and minimum thickness of coal beds as limiting factors in valua- 
tion of coal lands : Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 424, 1910, pp. 56-62. 



70 



CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 



down to 10,000. The increase for coals yielding less than 10,000 
B t. u. is at the rate of one-tenth inch for each decrease of 10 B. t. u. 
in the coal. The following table gives the thicknesses for B. t. u. of 
even five hundreds : 

Minimum thicknesses for even fl.ve hundreds B. t. u. 



B. t. u. 


Inches. 


B. t. u. 


Inches. 


B. t. u. 


Inches. 


15,000 


14 


12,500 


14 


10,000 


18 


14,500 


14 


12,000 


14 


9,500 


23 


14,000 


14 


11,500 


14* 


9,000 


28 


13,500 


14 


11,000 


15 


8,500 


33 


13,000 


14 


10,500 


16 


8,000 


38 



An important question that frequently arises is, What value, in 
relation to thickness, shall be given to split or broken beds? The 
general practice of the United States Geological Survey in classifying 
coals has been to give a split bed the value of an unbroken bed with 
which it can fairly be compared. It is evident that a solid 3-foot bed 
is worth more than two 18-inch benches separated by 6 inches of clay 
or shale. After careful study the Survey adopted the simple expedi- 
ent of prescribing that any parting or bench of bone or impure coal 
included in a bed injured the value of the coal of the bed in amount 
equal to the thickness of the parting. Thus the split bed just cited, 
with its 6-inch parting, is regarded as equivalent to a solid bed 30 
inches thick (36 inches of coal minus 6 inches of parting equals 30 
inches). If the benches on either side of the parting are not of the 
same thickness the thickness of the parting is deducted from the 
thickness of the thinner bench. It is not necessary to consider the 
whole thickness of a coal bed. It is the practice of the Survey to 
start with the best bench, if in itself not of workable thickness, and 
to add the thickness of the next bench above or below after deducting 
the thickness of the intermediate parting. If the whole bed thus 
included is still not of workable thickness and more benches exist 
above or below, the thickness of these benches is added, after sub- 
tracting the thickness of the parting between them and the principal 
bench. If a parting is thicker than the thinner adjoining coal 
bench, that bench is considered as having no value. This practice is 
best illustrated by a group of concrete examples. (See fig. 2.) 

As a matter of practice two coal layers, each workable, are 
treated as parts of a single bed if the two layers both exceed in thick- 
ness the parting between them and the parting does not exceed 3J 
feet. In general two layers of coal are treated as two beds if the 
parting between them exceeds either one in thickness, and their work- 
ability is determined on that basis. 



CLASSIFICATION OF MINERAL LANDS. 



71 



a "b a "b a lb at a~b 



2" V 

2" 

2" |' 2" 

8" 
2" 

I" 

5" 



2V" 



6" 5" 
I" 
J'!" II" 
2" 

l'4" I' 4* 

2'" 

*'i" n" 

4" 
I' 2" 10*1 



4'5" 



I' 3" ¥^ 



\'\" II" 
2" 

2'6" 2V" 



3 4 WMzs" I'll 



2'2" 

|'8" l'6" 
2* 

2' 5" 2'5" 



l'l" 

iV 

I' 10" I' 8' 
2 // 

!'6" l'4' 

2" 
l'4" 7' 

9" 
2' 2' 



10" 



= it a If 






a 



E I'll 



1) a Id 



a 



5'I0' 



1 



5'y 
a Id 



J' JO" l'8" 
2" 

2'! I" E'll" 



2'l" l'2' 



5'9' 




\'b" j'4' 



10". 8' 



I'lO'VlO" 



2'6' 



4' 4' 



10" 

9" 
6" 
7" 

2' 2' 

2" 
I '8" l'6" 

li 7 ' 



10' 



I' 



3 r 9" 3'9" 



, 7 // 3 // 



4'0 



3<IO y 



Figure 2. — Diagram showing split or broken beds and their value for classification 
measured thickness; b, equivalent thickness used in classification and valuation. 



72 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

The criteria given in the preceding paragraphs are intended to 
determine the workability or nonworkability of a coal measured at 
any given point. The most difficult problem in classification is the 
determination of the probable limits of workability of an irregular 
coal. Coal occurs in beds ranging in thickness from a fraction of 
an inch to 100 feet or more and in areal extent from a few square feet 
to thousands of square miles. Some beds maintain a nearly uniform 
thickness over hundreds of square miles. Others may be traced at 
the same geologic horizon over hundreds or thousands of square 
miles but vary greatly in thickness, ranging from a few inches to 
several feet or back again within a quarter of a mile. Every grade of 
regularity or irregularity between these extremes is found, and it is 
possible to determine the " habit " of some beds as regards regularity. 

The simplest problem is that in which two unequal measurements 
on a single bed, taken at different places, are available. All such 
beds are assumed to grade uniformly in thickness from the thicker 
measurement to or through the thinner measurement, and a limit 
to the workable coal is thus fixed that, while it may or may not agree 
with the unknown facts, is the most probable limit. In general, a coal 
bed that can be traced continuously along the face of a cliff, as can 
many beds in the West, has usually been assumed to extend under 
the land back from the cliff at least one-half the length of the cliff 
outcrop, the lens or bed having the shape of a half-circle, the length 
of the cliff outcrop being the diameter of the circle. Obviously, if 
the outcrop runs along the cliff for many miles, the extension of the 
coal back from the outcrop may be modified by many other factors, 
such as limit of depth, or outcrop on the opposite side of the hill. 
If the bed outcrops along the cliff with irregular thickness, only a 
moderate extension of the bed behind the cliff is assumed, the esti- 
mate being based on the character of the irregularities shown by 
measurements made along the cliff, or by a general knowledge of the 
extent of the lenses of that particular coal or of coals of that group, 
and depending on the general " habit " of the bed, if known, and 
also taking into account all local features. If the exposed outcrop 
does not extend in a straight line, but, as is more common, runs in 
and out of ravines, careful note is made of the thickening or thin- 
ning of the coal between one point of measurement and another in 
order to detect, if possible, any general tendency of the bed to thicken 
or thin in any direction, and all these measurements and tendencies 
are taken into account in determining the probable extent of the 
lens in any direction. 

Many beds studied are known to be of less than workable thick- 
ness in larger or smaller part, and any measurement showing a work- 
able thickness on such a bed must usually be considered as a meas- 
ure taken at the center of a small lens of workable coal. A discovery 



CLASSIFICATION" OP MINEKAL LANDS. 73 

or measurement of a coal bed by a well, or by drilling, will have the 
same value as an isolated measurement on the outcrop. The content 
and shape to be assigned to any lens must depend on conditions and 
are largely matters of judgment, and such assignments or determi- 
nations especially require a wide knowledge of coals and of the par- 
ticular group of coals to which the bed under consideration may 
belong. To insure uniformity in treating the thousands of ques- 
tions of this kind that may arise — for nearly every field involves 
some, and many fields involve a great number — the Geological Sur- 
vey has gradually established a series of precedents, and in every 
question the attempt is made to reach conclusions by means of mathe- 
matical calculation. The limits of this bulletin will not allow the 
consideration of these methods here. 

DEPTH. 

Some of the facts about the deep mining of coal in this country 
and abroad have been presented and discussed in an earlier bulletin 
of the Survey. 1 Not many years ago it was the common opinion 
and practice in parts of the West to consider as coal land only land 
on which coal actually cropped out, and requests are still occasionally 
sent to the Geological Survey asking the reclassification of certain 
land that had been previously classified as coal land, the writers 
contending, and supporting their contention by abundant affidavits, 
that the land is noncoal, because no coal shows at the surface and 
none has been found on it in wells. If such land should be consid- 
ered noncoal land, however, most of the coal now mined in Illinois, 
Indiana, western Kentucky, Michigan, Kansas, and some other States 
comes from noncoal land, for most of the mines in those States are 
on lands where the coal mined does not crop out but is reached by 
shafts. The actual outcrop of most of the coal mined in these States 
is from 5 to 75 miles away from the shafts. 

Two questions are here involved : (1) How deep can coal be mined? 
(2) Can all coals be mined to the same depth? Coal is now being 
mined to a depth of practically 4,000 feet (3,937 feet), and many 
shafts in England, Belgium, France, and Germany go deeper than 
3,000 feet. Moreover, a consideration of the still greater depths to 
which substances other than coal are being successfully mined and 
a study of the deepest coal mines have convinced many of the best 
engineers of England and Europe that coal mining will be extended 
to 5,000 feet. 2 The fact also that some of the largest coal com- 
panies of this country have purchased as coal land certain tracts 
under which the coal is believed to lie at depths of 5,000 to 6,000 feet 

1 Fisher, C. A., Depth and minimum thickness of beds as limiting factors in valuation 
of coal lands : Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 424, 1910, pp. 48 et seq. 

2 Idem, p. 51. 



74 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

shows that some American engineers believe that coal mining" will 
be carried to those depths. 

Although, without regard to profit, there may be a physical limit 
to the depth that coal can ultimately be mined, in general the depth 
of mining must be determined by its cost. Given a steady market 
the depth to which coal can be mined is a question that involves 
diminishing profits; every added foot of depth adds to the time re- 
quired to lift the coal, thus reducing the possible output of the mine, 
to the cost of the lift, to the initial capital required and the interest on 
that capital, to the size of pillars, and to other factors. Where coal is 
mined at a certain depth with a narrow margin of profit, obviously 
mining at a much greater depth will extinguish that margin and ren- 
der that coal unworkable until markets are better. Of two coals at 
the same depth, of the same thickness, and in other ways equal but 
of different quality, one, the better coal, may yield a profit and the 
other may not. A similar inequality of profit may exist between two 
coals of the same quality but of different thickness. The thicker 
coal, which can be mined at a less cost, may be minable at a profit, 
while the thinner may not. In brief, the depth to which any coal 
can be worked depends, on the one hand, on its quality, which de- 
termines the profits where the cost of working is the same, and, on 
the other hand, on the cost of mining, which, omitting differences 
due to depth, is in general proportional to the thickness of the coal. 
Therefore, given a certain grade of coal which sells on the market 
at a certain price the profit will be in inverse ratio to the cost of 
mining, and hence, other things being equal, the depth to which that 
coal can be mined will differ for different thicknesses of coal and is 
assumed to vary in direct proportion to the value of the coal as com- 
puted from the cost of mining. 

The depth to which any coal can be mined is therefore assumed to 
be directly proportional to the B. t. u. value of the coal and inversely 
proportional to the cost of mining for different thicknesses. Thus 
below the adopted minimum depth of 500 feet, a 10,000 B. t. u. coal 
can be mined to only two-thirds the depth of a 15,000 B. t. u. coal, 
and an 8,000 B. t. u. coal to two-thirds the depth of a 12,000 B. t. u. 
coal of the same thickness. If 5,000 feet is assumed as the maximum 
possible depth at which any coal can be mined, it is also assumed to 
apply only to coal of the highest grade and to the thickness costing 
the least to mine — in other words, to a 15,000 B. t. u. coal 6 feet or 
more thick. By this assumption a 6-foot coal of 12,000 B. t. u. is 
considered as .workable to only 4,000 feet or a 6-foot coal of 10,000 
B. t. u. to only 3,333 feet. 

Elsewhere in this bulletin it is pointed out that the cost of mining 
a ton of coal is much higher for thin beds than for thick beds. There 
is no great difference in the cost of mining coals between 6 and 10 



CLASSIFICATION OF MINERAL LANDS. 



75 



feet thick, but, especially in the West, the cost of mining coals less 
than 6 feet thick increases as the thickness decreases. It has there- 
fore been assumed that a coal of the minimum thickness for its grade 
is workable to a depth of not more than 500 feet ; that a coal 6 feet 
or more thick is workable to a depth of 100 feet for each 300 B. t. u. it 
contains ; and that a coal between its minimum thickness and 6 feet is 
workable to a depth between 500 feet and the maximum depth limit 
for that coal proportional to the thickness above the minimum. 
Thus, a 12,000 B. t. u. coal 6 feet or more thick has a maximum depth 
limit of 4,000 feet and an assumed minimum thickness of 14 inches ; 
a bed of 12,000 B. t. u. coal 4 feet thick is workable to a depth deter- 
mined by the rule above given as follows: 72— 14:48— 14:: 4,000 — 
500 :#/ #=2,050, which added to 500, the depth limit for a bed of the 
minimum thickness, gives 2,550 as the depth limit for the bed under 
consideration. 

The accompanying chart (fig. 3) is copied from part of a large- 
scale diagram used by the Geological Survey in classifying coal land. 
It is arranged to show the depth limit fixed for a coal of any B. t. u. 
value of any thickness under 6 feet. 

For convenience the readings for the even feet and for the even 
thousand B. t. u. are given in the following table: 

Limit® of minaole depth of coal of various thicknesses and various heating 

values in B. t. u. 





15,000 


14, 000 


13,000 


12,000 


11,000 


10,000 


9,000 


8,000 






Thickness, in feet: 

li 


811 
1,275 
2,200 
3,140 
4,070 
5,000 


787 
1,217 
2,075 
2,940 
3.800 
4.666 


764 
1,160 
1,950 
2,740 
3,540 
4,330 


751 
1,100 
1,830 
2, 550 
3,270 
4,000 


665 
1,000 
1,665 
2,340 
3,000 
3,660 


500 
825 
1,440 
2,075 
2,700 
3,330 






2 . 






3 


950 
1,650 
2,330 
3,000 




4 


1,140 


5 


1.920 


6 


2.660 







In general the limit of depth at which a coal bed may be profitably 
mined depends entirely upon the thickness of the bed and the quality 
of the coal. If, however, a thin but workable bed that lies below 
its ordinary minable depth is overlain by a thicker bed that lies 
within its own minable depth, the lower thin bed may, perhaps, be 
profitably worked by extending downward 1 the shaft sunk to the 
higher, thicker coal, whereas the thinner bed could not have been 
profitably mined alone. A single shaft may also give access to all 
the coals of a group, and, though the cost of raising all the coal will 
be the same as if the coal were taken from a single bed, the cost of 
the shaft and the interest on that cost will be borne by the proceeds of 
a larger product. In some places the whole cost of a shaft may be 
borne by the coal of a thick bed that underlies several thinner beds 



76 



CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 



or that lies in the middle of a group of thinner beds. It is clear 
that no two shafts that penetrate groups of coal beds will present 



Thickness of coal bed in feet 

12 3 4 5 



500 



1,000 



1,500 



2,000 



"£ 2,500 



j= 3,000 

Q_ 
CD 
Q 



3,500 



4,000 



4,500 



5,000 







































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12 3 4 5 

Thickness of coal bed in feet 



8,000 
8,500 
9,000' 
.9,500 
10,000 
10,500 
11,000 
11,500 
12,000 

13,000 

14,000 

15,000 



Figure 3. — Diagram showing depth limits of coals of different B. t. u. and of different 

thicknesses under 6 feet. 

similar conditions. The coals of such groups will vary in number 
from two to twenty or more and may be included in an interval 



CLASSIFICATION OF MINERAL LANDS. 77 

of 50 to 500 feet or more. Every case involving such conditions 
must be considered on its merits, and here again the Geological 
Survey has found it necessary to establish a series of general prece- 
dents in order to make its treatment of such cases reasonably 
uniform. In some places it has been found possible to treat a 
group of coal beds as if they were all gathered at a " center of 
weight " — that is, at a point determined by multiplying the com- 
puted thickness of each bed by its depth from the surface and 
dividing the sum of the products by the sum of the compensated 
thicknesses, the thicknesses of the various beds being reduced for 
partings in the manner already described. 

The determination of the limit in depth at which a coal bed can 
be mined may be complicated by the fact that in a region of very 
rugged topography the coal gets below minable limit in passing 
under some high ridge or peak but is within the minable limit under 
a valley on the other side. Again, in some places the coal outcrops 
near the foot of a great cliff, such as commonly flanks a high plateau 
in the West, and it goes below minable depth within a short distance 
from its outcrop. In order to cover all the different occurrences of 
this kind the regulations provide that tracts underlain by horizontal 
beds of coal that lie at depths below the minable limit may under cer- 
tain conditions be classified as coal land. Horizontal beds of coal may 
be mined to a distance back from their outcrop equal to 10 times the 
depth limit for coal of that particular grade and thickness. It is evi- 
dent that, to- be commercially minable at a certain depth, a coal bed 
must be minable for a reasonable distance from the foot of a shaft 
sunk to it, in order to pay the cost of the shaft. It is also evident 
that if it is profitable to sink a shaft to the depth limit for a given 
coal and then mine out horizontally by drift a certain distance from 
the foot of the shaft, it would be profitable to mine farther from the 
foot of the shaft if it were not so deep. The relative values involved 
in shaft and drift can be easily calculated if unit values are fixed 
for the horizontal and vertical components. For purposes of classi- 
fication and valuation it has been assumed that 1 foot of vertical shaft 
in rock involves as much expense in its construction and maintenance 
and in the removal of the coal as 7.5 feet of horizontal drift in coal. 
For this reason the horizontal distance to which the drift can be 
carried will be no more than the prescribed limit for mining from 
the outcrop (in this case set at 10 times the vertical limit) minus 
7.5 times the depth of the shaft. Thus if the minable depth of a cer- 
tain coal bed is 2,000 feet, but that bed is horizontal and crops out 
in a cliff, the area underlain by it is classified as coal land for a dis- 
tance of 10 times 2,000, or 20,000 feet, back from the outcrop. If the 
bed is horizontal but lies at a depth of 700 feet, it is assumed that the 
coal can be mined back 20,000 minus (700X7.5) =14,750 feet from the 



78 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

foot of a shaft of that depth, even if, away from the foot of the 
shaft, the coal is more than 2,000 feet below the surface. If the 
shaft is 1,200 feet deep the coal can be mined back 20,000 minus 
(1,200X7.5) =11,000 feet. If the coal is at the depth limit at the 
foot of the shaft it can be mined back 20,000 minus (2,000X7.5) = 
5,000 feet, or approximately 1 mile in any direction. 



CLASSIFICATION BY 40-ACRE TRACTS OR LOTS. 

In ordinary practice coal land is disposed of by parcels composed 
of " smallest legal subdivisions," which are ordinarily quarter-quarter 
sections, or 40 acres, except along the north and west sides of town- 
ships and in areas bordering meandered rivers or lakes, where the 
tracts are usually irregular in size and shape and are called lots. 

The price of a tract that is wholly underlain by coal is the price 
per acre multiplied by the number of acres. The price of a tract 
that is only in part underlain by coal is the price of the coal per acre 
multiplied by the number of acres it underlies. To obtain the sale 
price per acre of the 40-acre tract or lot, the amount obtained by the 
above computation is divided by 40 or by a figure representing the 
actual acreage, but no land must be appraised at a price below the 
minimum fixed by law. Thus if 24 acres of a 40-acre tract is under- 
lain by coal valued at $50 an acre the price of the " forty " is 24 times 
$50=$1,200, or $30 an acre ($l,200-f-40=$30). The value of the coal 
in some lands, however, is so small that to charge even the minimum 
price for them would make the price of the coal abnormally high. For 
example, to take an actual case : Five acres of a 40-acre tract is under- 
lain by coal 2 feet thick, the total value of which under the regulations 
is about $100. The tract is within 15 miles of a railroad, and there- 
fore if it is all sold as coal land it must be sold at the rate of $20 an 
acre — that is, the whole tract must be sold for $800. The coal land 
in the forty is therefore segregated from the agricultural land, the line 
of division following the 10 or 2J acre subdivision. The two por- 
tions of the forty thus segregated are treated as separate lots. The 5 
acres of coal land is sold for $100, its value, and the noncoal tract is 
subject to disposal as nonmineral land. Such a division of the forty 
into two lots, one coal and the other noncoal, is made only along the 
outcrop of the coal and only within so short a distance from known 
corners that little doubt can arise as to the exact position of the 
outcrop. 

OTTTCROP COAL AND BURNED COAD. 

In coal-mining practice it has been found that the coal along the 
outcrop and for a distance back of it ranging from 30 to 100 feet or 
more, the distance depending on the amount of cover, is more or less 
influenced by weathering, which materially decreases its value. Dim- 



CLASSIFICATION OF MINERAL LANDS. 



79 



culty due to the thin and weak roof is also encountered in mining on 
the outcrop. If only a thin edge or corner of coal extends into a forty 
it may be neglected, as it will give the tract no value as coal land. If 
the coal outcrops in bluffs or steep hillsides or has a high dip weath- 
ering may be neglected. If the coal outcrops at the top of a mesa or 
on the face of a long, gentle slope an allowance is made for thinness 
of cover. The possibility of mining outcrop coal by stripping with 
steam shovel or otherwise is generally considered, as such a method of 
coal mining has in many places proved highly successful. 

In many areas of the West the coal beds have been burned along 
the outcrop. In some places one or more or all of the beds have been 
burned not only along an outcrop over a whole field but under the 
fiat tops of mesas where the coal is close to the surface. In a few 
places mining has shown that this burning extends back 1,000 feet 
or more and lies many hundred feet under cover. In general, how- 
ever, the coal does not appear to have burned back more than a 
few rods. All places where coal has been burned are indicated on 
the field maps. In classifying the land in these places the edge of 
the coal is fixed along a line drawn back of the outcrop, only slightly 
back of it where the line crosses ravines, but to a considerable dis- 
tance back of it where it crosses projecting divides, especially if the 
coal is under light cover. 

METHODS OF VALUATION. 1 
COST OF OOAIi IN THE GROUND. 

The total cost of coal in the ground consists of the original pur- 
chase price, interest on investment, amortization charges, taxes, and, 
if the coal is leased, the cost of inspection and of collecting royalties. 
The following table shows the amortization and ultimate cost of coal 
in the ground per dollar of investment for periods ranging from 20 
to 40 years, at 5 and 6 per cent interest. 

Ultimate cost of coal per dollar of purchase price. 



Amortization period in years. 


Rate of 

interest. 


Annual 
interest. 


Annual 

taxes at 

1 per cent. 


Annual 
amorti- 
zation 
charge. 


Total 

annual 

cost. 


Total cost 
per dollar 
of purchase 
price at 
end of 
amortiza- 
tion period. 


20 


Per cent. 

{ I 
{ I 
{ I 


$0.05 
.06 
.05 
.06 
.05 
.06 


$0.01 
.01 
.01 
.01 
.01 
.01 


$0.03 
.027 
.015 
.0125 
.008 
.006 


$0.09 
.097 
.075 
.0825 
.068 
.076 


$1.80 


30 


1.94 
2.25 


40 


2.475 

2.88 




3.04 



1 For a more detailed account of the principles of valuation of public coal land see 
Survey Bulletin 424, on the valuation of public coal lands. 



80 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

It is generally agreed that the price paid for coal in the ground 
should be recovered by the investor during the early years of the 
mining, when the cost is lowest. Otherwise it must be recovered 
when the inevitable increase in the cost of working the mine has re- 
duced the profits and the business has reached a condition that is the 
bane of the eastern coal-mining industry to-day. The initial invest- 
ment should invariably be refunded within the first 20 years of the 
life of the mine. The above table shows that if the mine is opened 
and operated immediately and continuously after purchase the total 
cost of the coal in the ground will be about two dollars for each 
dollar of the purchase price. The value of coal in the ground at 
the time of its extraction is measured by the current royalty rate in 
the region where the coal is situated. Its value at the time the mine 
is opened is, then, approximately one-half the royalty rate, as has 
been indicated. Were it possible to know in advance the exact num- 
ber of tons that would be recovered from any acre of land, the value 
of that acre at the beginning of mining would be one-half the 
royalty rate per ton multiplied by the tonnage recovered. If the 
royalty rate is 10 cents a ton, the value of coal per ton in the ground 
when a mine is opened is at least 5 cents. To insure profit and safety, 
however, the purchaser of coal land, as a rule, in buying demands a 
margin on the estimated tonnage value (1) as a consideration for 
the risk of the investment, (2) to offset possible delays in the mining 
of the coal, and (3) as a contingent against an overestimate of the 
recoverable tonnage. If this margin is fixed at one-half the esti- 
mated value, the coal should have a sale value of 2J cents a ton if 
the royalty is 10 cents a ton. Royalties on bituminous coals in the 
United States range from about 3 to the equivalent of 35 cents a ton. 
A comparison of royalties paid in the United States, some of which 
are given in Survey Bulletin 424 (p. 10) shows that 10 cents a ton 
is not far from the average royalty paid under private leases — some- 
what less in the East, somewhat more in the West, Therefore 2^ 
cents a ton is a fair sale price for unmined coal that is to be mined 
immediately, where 10 cents a ton is the prevailing royalty. As a 
matter of fact, where the character and tonnage of the coal are well 
known to both buyer and seller prices often range from one-quarter 
the royalty rate almost or quite to the royalty rate. For example, 
the Pittsburgh coal, in southwestern Pennsylvania, is worked to a 
thickness of about 7 feet. On an estimate of 1,200 tons recovery per 
acre-foot this bed should yield 8,400 tons an acre; yet it is reported 
that 99 separate transfers were made in Westmoreland County be- 
tween 1901 and 1910 at an average price of $1,102.70 an acre — over 
13 cents a ton — and many of these sales were made at a price much 
higher than this average. Occasionally the sale price for small tracts 
adjacent to operating mines may reach the royalty rate. 



CLASSIFICATION OF MINEKAL LANDS. 81 

The general impression that coal lands are sold at low prices is 
due largely to the fact that in the past most of the sellers had bought 
their land as farm land, knowing little or nothing of its coal content 
or value, and had regarded the coal as a little overmeasure on the part 
of nature for which they were willing to take anything that was 
offered or that looked good to them. As a result a large number of 
the recorded sales of coal land have been made at prices that have 
had little relation to the value of the coal, and in the past a large 
percentage of the total acreage has been sold at such prices. A recent 
review of coal-land sales for one year, as recorded in one of the most 
reliable of the coal journals, excluding all sales of tracts containing 
over 10,000 acres, which were obviously bought for holding or specu- 
lation, showed 40 sales, representing a total of 95,218 acres, at an 
average price of $209 per acre. This average price for a year's sales 
shows the great extent to which coal lands have passed out of their 
original farmer ownership. Grouped according to prices, it is found 
that that year's sales as thus recorded ran as follows : 

Prices of coal lands sold in one year. 



Price per acre. 


Sales. 


Acres. 




3 
2 
3 

8 
10 
14 


10, 198 
1,633 


$600 to $800 


$400 to $600 


417 


$200 to $400 


14, 046 


$100 to $200 


26, 097 


Less than $100 


32. 817 







In other words, 65 per cent of the sales and the acreage were at 
$100 an acre or more and 40 per cent of the sales were at $200 an acre 
or more. 

It is evident that a large share of these were sales of lands not 
purchased for immediate development. Sixteen of these sales, con- 
veying 74,633 acres, covered tracts containing more than 1,500 acres, 
an area generally admitted to be as large as can be economically mined 
from one plant in present-day practice. 

In order to give the prospective buyer an ample margin of safety, 
the basing prices of the Government coal lands are fixed at only 40 
per cent of the value (2-| cents per ton) named in a preceding para- 
graph, or at 1 cent per ton for a coal of good average quality — say 
12,500 B. t. u. — equivalent to one-tenth of a cent for each 1,250 B. t. u. 
of the coal. This price is one-tenth the assumed average royalty 
rate. 

FACTORS INVOLVED. 

The valuation indicated, however — 1 cent per ton for coal in the 
ground — is not put on all coals indiscriminately. Though the value 
of any coal is most readily obtained by taking the royalty rate, 
78894°— Bull. 537—13 6 



82 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

the royalty rate itself is based on the average difference between the 
cost price of the coal ready for sale and the sale price — that is, on 
the profit. If competition is keen and the profit is low, these facts 
are reflected in a low royalty rate. Whatever affects the profits 
affects the royalty rate and correspondingly the value. Other things 
being equal, the lower the grade of coal the less readily it sells and the 
less the profit, the royalty, and the value. On the other hand, the 
more expensive the coal is to mine the less the profit, the royalty, and 
the value. The Government valuations can not take account of 
changes in competition, markets, transportation facilities, or freight 
rates, or other factors that affect the profit, but it can and does take 
account of the quality and character of the coal, both chemically and 
physically, which affect the sale price and so the profit and value, 
and of those natural factors that affect the mining cost. The most 
important of these factors are thickness and accessibility. 

EFFECT OF QUALITY ON PRICE. 

One cent per ton is therefore the price put on a good average coal — 
a noncoking bituminous coal of 12,500 B. t. u. heat value, 6 to 10 feet 
thick, and at the surface. For coals of other B. t. u. value the same 
rate of one-tenth cent for each 1,250 B. t. u. is applied, and provision 
is made for increasing this value (not to exceed 100 per cent) for 
coking coal or coal that has special qualities which enhance its value 
in the market, the percentage of increase depending on the quality 
of the coke it yields or the extent to which its special qualities en- 
hance its value; and on the other hand provision is made for reduc- 
ing the appraised value because of special impurities, such as sul- 
phur, or because of physical defects that obviously detract from the 
market value. 

EFFECT OF MINING COST ON PRICE. 

The cost of mining coal is affected by many factors — such as cost of 
prospecting, shaft sinking, or other mine opening, surface and under- 
ground plant, perhaps community plant, water, supplies, timber, 
feed, and insurance — all of which vary from place to place or in 
accordance with the method of working the mine. Within the mine 
the main factors are mining rate, thickness, depth, and dip or pitch 
of bed, variations or irreguarity in thickness, partings, " sulphur " or 
other impurities that must be removed, kind of roof or floor, presence 
of gas or water, provision for drainage and ventilation, haulage and 
hoisting, faults, and igneous intrusions. Many of these factors 
give rise to problems for the engineer; others definitely affect the 
value of the land for coal mining. One of the factors of the latter 
class — thickness — has so definite and constant a relation to the cost 
of mining that it must be taken into account in determining the value 
of all coal land. 



CLASSIFICATION OF MINERAL LANDS. 83 

VAIiUE OF THIN COALS. 

The cost of mining thin coals increases rapidly with the decrease 
in their thickness, for the following reasons : The rate paid for min- 
ing the coal increases with the thinning of the bed, as do the amount 
of dead work per unit of output, the cost of trackage, ties, rails, haul- 
age, and ventilation, and, for the very thin coals, the cost of taking 
up floor or brushing down roof to obtain height. 

H. M. Chance 1 has prepared curves expressing the relations 
between mining cost and thickness for anthracite coal. The figures 
showing Chance's determinations are given in column 2 of the table 
on page 84. Similar figures (column 3) were obtained by the Survey 
for bituminous coals. Detailed cost sheets of mines working coals of 
different thicknesses were taken and the costs were separated into 
four items — (a) capital cost (interest, etc.) ; (b) mining rate; (c) 
tonnage cost (proportional to output, tipple, office, etc.) ; (d) acreage 
cost (proportional to acreage mined out, dead work, hauling, etc.). 
Obviously, if the recovery per acre-foot is the same, the last item 
would be double for a 5-foot coal bed what it would be for a 10-foot 
bed yielding the same output and would be inversely proportional 
to the thickness of the bed. Though the tonnage recovered is greater 
per acre-foot from thin than from thick beds, yet the recovery 
varies so greatly from mine to mine and from time to time that an 
absolutely invariable recovery from a bed of a given thickness can 
not be assumed. Therefore, in reaching the results now to be stated, 
differences in recovery from beds of different thickness have not 
been considered. As in all studies of coal mining made by the 
Geological Survey the obtainable figures relating to any particular 
factor were, if possible, gathered together and platted graphically on 
a chart, by which it has usually been practicable to show certain 
definite averages or curves expressing the relation sought. Whenever 
possible, these curves have been reduced to mathematical formulas. 
A concrete example is a curve showing the relation between the min- 
ing rate and thickness of bed, a relation which it was necessary to de- 
termine in working out the total cost of mining beds of different 
thicknesses. In making this diagram the mining rates at different 
places in the United States were platted on cross-section paper as 
shown in figure 4 (p. 85), on which the curve A-B was drawn to ex- 
press the average relation between these two factors, a relation which 
was used in later computations. 

1 Chance, H. M., The cost of mining coal : Eng. and Min. Jour., May 29, 1909, pp. 
1099-1101. 



84 



CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 



The following table gives the derivation of the formula showing 
the relation of the thickness to value of bed,. uniform recovery being 
assumed : 

Table showing derivation of -formula for relation of thickness to value of bed. 



Thick- 
ness of 
bed in 

feet 

(t). 


Average cost. 


Ap- 
proxi- 
mate 
com- 
bina- 
tion 
cost. 


Value 
by in- 
version. 


Differ- 
ence= 

10 
minus 
thick- 
ness 
in feet. 


Square 

of 
amount 
in col- 
umn 6. 


100 
minus 
amount 
in col- 
umn 7. 


Anthra- 
cite 
(Chance). 


Bitumi- 
nous. 


1 


2 


3 


4 


5 


6 


7 


8 


10 
9 

8 
7 
6 
5 
4 
3 
2 


1.00 

1.01 

1.045 

1.10 

1.18 

1.35 

1.65 

2.13 

3.36 


1.00 
1.03 
1.075 
1.126 
1.20 
1.30 
1.45-1.55 
2.00 
3.00 


1.00 
1.02 
1.05 
1.10 
1.20 
1.33 
1.50 
2.00 
3.00 


1.00 
.97 
.95 
.91 
.83 
.75 
.66 
.50 
.33 



1 

2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 



1 

4 
9 
16 
25 
36 
49 
64 


100 
99 
96 
91 
84 
75 
64 
51 
36 



The first column in the table gives the thickness of the bed in 
feet ; the second the average cost of mining anthracite at these thick- 
nesses, according to Chance (not including breakerage charges) ; 
the third column, the computed relative cost for bituminous coal; 
the fourth column, the approximate combination of the two; the 
fifth column, the relative values of beds of the same quality of coal 
of different thickness, obtained by dividing 100 by the cost, given in 
column 4; the sixth column, the difference in feet between 10 and 
the particular thickness given ; the seventh column, the square of 
the numbers in column 6; the eighth column, the result of sub- 
tracting from 100 the square of the difference between 10 and the 
thickness in feet. By comparing columns 5 and 8, column 8 is seen to 
give a close approximation to the computed figures in column 5, and as 
the figures in column 5 are by no means absolute and fixed the figures 
in column 8 have been taken as fairly expressing the relative value of 
different thicknesses of the same coal ; but this is found by subtracting 
from 100 per cent a percentage equal to the square of the differ- 



100 (10-t)' 



/ 10-A 2 - 

v io y 



ence between 10 and the thickness, or 

The value per ton of a bed less than 10 feet thick of a given grade of 

coal may therefore be found by multiplying the normal value per ton 

/ 1 — 1\ 2 
for a 10-foot bed of coal of that grade by (1 — ( )). 

In valuing land by the acre-foot, however, an additional factor 
must be considered, namely, that a larger recovery of coal per acre-' 
foot is possible from thin beds than from thick beds. This difference 
offsets in a measure the rapid increase in mining cost with thinning 
of beds. Thus 1,000 tons an acre-foot for a 10-foot bed and 1,200 



CLASSIFICATION- OF MINERAL LANDS. 



85 



tons an acre-foot for a 6-foot bed are considered fair recoveries. But 
1,000 tons of coal at 1 cent a ton is $10, and 1,200 tons at 0.84 cent a 
ton (84 per cent being the corresponding value of a 6-foot bed) is 
$10.08. It is then practically immaterial whether land containing a 
6-foot bed is valued at 84 per cent of the normal value of land con- 
taining a 10-foot bed of coal of a certain grade and an assumed 
recovery of 1,200 tons an acre- foot or whether the same value per 
ton and the same recovery per acre-foot are assumed as with the 
10-foot bed. As the latter treatment is the simpler it has therefore 







































































































**i 










































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2^ 




+4 
























































































































































































































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V 










































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\ \ 












































\\ \ 








































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v4\ 








































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U\ 










































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V 


6 








































s 


A 


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\ 








































A 


V 










































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o 












































\ 


V 


10 
































V 




15 






s> 


































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7 


v 












13 


8- 






















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V 


































14 


\ 








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9 V 


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B 



































































































25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 105 110 115 120 125 130 135 

Mining rate in cents per ton for bituminous coal 

Figure 4. — Rates paid in the United States for mining coal of specified thicknesses and 
curve (A-B) showing average relation between mining rate and thickness. 1, 2, 3, 
Wyoming, southern fields, run of mine, agreements of 1912. 4, 5, Colorado, north- 
eastern coal fields, run of mine, agreements of 1912. 6, Montana, Red Lodge field, run 
of mine. 7, Indiana, miscellaneous agreements, run of mine. 8, Indiana, block coal 
agreements, screened. 9, Michigan, summary of agreements of 1910. 10. Missouri, 
summary of agreements, run of mine. 11, Missouri, Bates and Vernon counties, run of 
mine, agreements of 1908. 12, West A T irginia, summary of agreements, screened. 13, 
Kentucky-Tennessee, Jellico mining district, screened. 14, Tennessee, Durham Coal & 
Iron Co., run of mine. 15, Tennessee, summary of agreements, run of mine. 

been adopted and the value of a ton of any coal in the ground is 
taken as constant for thicknesses between 6 and 10 feet. 

The rate of increase in cost of mining a bed less than 6 feet thick, 
however, is too great to be compensated for by the greater recovery 
per acre-foot. After making various assumptions as to fair average 
acre-foot recovery for thin coals — assumptions based on known recov- 
eries—and after computing the value of the coal in thin beds, accord- 



86 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC- LANDS. 

ing to the formula given on page 84, it was decided to avoid a 
sliding scale both in value and recovery by reducing the value of beds 
less than 6 feet thick 10 per cent for each foot below 6 until the 
minimum for that coal is reached. Thus the coal in a 5-foot 
bed is computed at 90 per cent of the value per ton of the coal 
in a 6-foot bed, the coal in a 3-foot bed at TO per cent of the value 
per ton of the coal in a 6-foot bed, and so on. This reduction for the 
value of the coal in beds less than 6 feet thick is readily computed by 

multiplying the normal value per ton by -r^, where t is the thickness 

in feet. Figures showing the results obtained by multiplying the 
relative value of coal in thin beds, given in column 8 of the preceding 
table, by various assumed rates of recovery were plotted on cross- 
section paper and an arbitrary line was drawn through the middle 
of the group of lines so obtained. This line is practically a straight 
line, giving a reduction in value of 10 per cent for each 1-foot reduc- 
tion in thickness, and was accepted as representing fair average 
relative values. 

Sufficient data were not at hand on the relative cost of mining coals 
more than 10 feet thick to lead to definite figures, or figures having 
more than approximately authoritative value. It is, however, gen- 
erally recognized that the cost of working coals does not continue to 
decrease indefinitely as the beds increase in thickness, for the in- 
creased cost of timbering and increases due to other practical diffi- 
culties gradually overcome the gain due to smaller acreage, and in- 
creases for the thick coals in general probably entirely offset that 
gain. From beds more than 10 feet thick, other things being equal, 
the recovery per acre-foot decreases with increase in thickness, owing 
to the necessity of leaving larger pillars and the difficulty of reaching 
all the coal. It has therefore been assumed that the recovery dimin- 
ishes on each additional foot above 10. Thus a 16-foot bed takes first 
the normal value on 10 feet ; next the eleventh foot is valued at only 
99 per cent of the value fixed for the tenth foot, the twelfth foot at 
98 per cent, and so on, the sixteenth foot having a value of only 94 
per cent of the value fixed for the tenth foot. 

In computing acre values on beds over 10 feet thick it has been 
found best to use the normal basing value in cents per ton of a 10- 
foot bed and assume the same recovery per acre-foot and then com- 
pute the thickness (f) of a bed that without deduction will yield 
the same acreage recovery as the bed in question. Where the thick- 
ness in feet (t) is more than 10 the equivalent thickness (f) is ex- 
pressed by the following formula: £' = 9+ -IL-/2 — -Z—-Y 



CLASSIFICATION OF MINEBAL LANDS. 



87 



Summarizing the above: The Government price per ton for a 
bed 6 to 10 feet thick will range from 6.4 mills (0.64 cent) for an 
8,000 B. t. u. coal to 1.2 cents for a 15,000 B. t. u. coal, but if a coal is 
of coking quality its price may be increased to a maximum of 2.4 
cents, or if its quality is low it may be decreased to one-tenth cent 
or less. 

In computing the thickness of a split or broken bed for valuation 
the same allowance is made as in considering classification. 

The following table gives the computed value per acre of ordinary 
coal beds of different B. t. u. and different thickness : 

Normal price per acre of coal land containing one bed of coal toith heat values 
from 10,000 to 15,000 B. t. u. and thickness from 1 foot 6 inches to 50 feet. 











Price per acre. 








Actual 

thickness. 


Equivalent 
computed 
thickness. 














Tons per 

acre at 

1,750 

tons per 


10,000 
B. t. u.; 


11,000 
B. t. u.; 


12,000 
B. t. u.; 


13,000 
B. t. u.; 


14,000 
B. t. u.; 


15,000 
B. t. u.; 






0.8 cent 


0.88 cent 


0.96 cent 


1.04 cents 


1.12 cents 


1.20 cents 


acre-foot. 






per ton. 


per ton. 


per ton. 


per ton. 


per ton. 


per ton. 




Ft. in. 


Ft. in. 
















1 6 


8 


a $6. 60 


a $7. 25 


a $7. 93 


a $8. 58 


a $9. 25 


a $9. 90 


2,625 


2 


1 2 


a 9. 60 


a 10. 56 


a 11. 52 


a 12. 48 


a 13. 44 


a 14. 40 


3,500 


3 


2 1 


0I6.8O 


a 18. 50 


20.15 


21.85 


23.50 


25.20 


5,250 


4 


3 2 


25.60 


28.16 


30.75 


33.30 


35.80 


38.40 


7,000 


5 


4 6 


36.00 


39.60 


43.20 


46.75 


50.40 


54.00 


8,750 


6 


6 


48.00 


52.80 


57.60 


62.40 


67.20 


72.00 


10,500 


7 


7 


56.00 


61.60 


67.20 


72.80 


78.40 


84.00 


12,250 


8 


8 


64.00 


70.40 


76.80 


83.20 


89.60 


96.00 


14,000 


9 


9 


72.00 


79.20 


86.40 


93.60 


100.80 


108. 00 


15,750 


10 


10 


80.00 


88.00 


96.00 


104. 00 


112. 00 


120. 00 


17,500 


20 


19 5 


155. 60 


171.20 


186. 72 


201.94 


218.00 


233. 30 


35,000 


30 


27 10 


223. 40 


245. 60 


268. 00 


290. 00 


312.50 


334. 80 


52,500 


40 


35 4 


282. 70 


311.00 


338.30 


367.50 


395. 00 


423. 00 


70,000 


50 


46 9 


374.80 


412. 00 


449. 00 


486. 50 


525. 00 


562. 00 


87,500 



a Where the computed value is less than $20 the minimum prescribed by law is placed on the land- 
$20 if the lands lie within 15 miles of a railroad and $10 if more than 15 miles from a railroad. 



VALUE OF IRREOTJIiAB BEDS. 



If the calculated thickness of any coal bed or group of beds snows 
a considerable variation in thickness and shows that this variation 
is not regular, it must be recognized that on any 40 acres concerning 
which no data are available the coal may be as thick or as thin as 
the maximum or minimum measured in adjacent areas. Because 
of the limited acreage that one purchaser may now legally buy and 
because he may not exchange his land for other land if it proves 
not to be underlain by as much coal as had been estimated in de- 
termining its price, an allowance should in fairness be made to him 
for possible local thinning. 

If any regularity is shown in the changing thickness of the coal, 
the practice is adopted of drawing lines of equal thickness, a feature 



88 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

best illustrated by giving a concrete case, such as is represented in 
figure 5. 

On this map lines were drawn from the position of one measure- 
ment to the position of each adjacent measurement and the thick- 
ness was assumed to grade uniformly from one to each of the other 
points. Valuation is then based on the average thickness thus found 
for each forty that is being valued. If the measurements do not 
show any regularity in the change of thickness, the Survey has 
adopted a method of computing thickness that permits the thickness 
of the coal under any tract of land to be considered as less than the 
average of the measurements, in order to favor the buyer, for the 
reasons already stated. For while the coal is as likely to be above 
the average as below and, mathematically, is more likely to be just 
the average thickness than any other, yet a cautious buyer bargain- 
ing for coal would always want to discount the probability a little, 
as a matter of safety. If all the measurements on a bed indicate the 
same thickness, that thickness may be safely taken as the thickness 
of the coal under any land included by the measurements. If the 
measurements vary but slightly from the average, the thickness un- 
der the land where no measurements are obtained is not likely to be 
much below the average. If, however, the variation is large, the 
coal in some places may be even thinner than the smallest measure- 
ment ; yet to assume that the coal under all the land where no actual 
measurements were made is as thin as the thinnest measurements 
obtained would be overcautious. A more probable thickness is ob- 

SD 

tained by multiplying the average of the measurements by (1 — - e -), 

in which S is the sum of all the measurements and SD is the sum of the 
numbers obtained by subtracting from the average each measurement 
below it or subtracting the average from each measurement above 
it. For example, if the measurements on a given bed in a certain 
area are 4 feet, 5 feet, 7 feet, 3 feet, 4 feet, 8 feet, 5 feet, 2 feet, 4 feet, 
2 feet, 6 feet, and 10 feet, the average of all the measurements is 
5 feet; the sum of the measurements is 60 feet; the difference be- 
tween the several measurements and the average 5 feet is 1 foot, 
0, 2 feet, 2 feet, 1 foot, 3 feet, 0, 3 feet, 1 foot, 3 feet, 1 foot, 
5 feet, which added together give 21 feet; so 21 feet divided by 60 
has been called the " modulus of irregularity " and has been adopted 

21 
as a factor of safety; 1 — — or 100 per cent — 35 per cent = 65 per 

cent ; 65 per cent of 5 feet = 3J feet ; therefore 3 \ feet is taken as a 
safe average thickness on which to sell the coal — in other words, 
the thickness which it is highly probable will be reached or exceeded 
by the coal under any of the land within the area of the measure- 



CLASSIFICATION OF MINEEAL LANDS, 



89 



1 ..yps^ 



-30- 



■29- 




Coal crop.and area 
underlain by the coal 
bed ' 



Coal measurements 
(thickness in inches) 



Bore hole and 
well records 



Figure 5. — Sketch map showing lines along which a coal bed is of equal thickness 
(isopachous lines), drawn for use in the valuation of coal land. 



90 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

ments given. In this, of course, the Government is favoring the 
buyer to the extent that the computed safe average is below the 
actual average of measurement ; but, on the other hand, it is believed 
that this is no more than would properly be demanded by the aver- 
age purchaser of private coal lands who, knowing the measurements 
of thickness on the land to be purchased, wishes to safeguard himself 
against the possibility that the measurements will prove to be above 
the average of all of the coal. This safeguard is, of course, in addi- 
tion to the allowance for such a possibility in the purchase price. 

VALUE PER ACRE. 

The Government prices for coal land are based on an assumed 
possible recovery of 1,000 tons per acre-foot. As an acre of coal a 
foot thick contains 1,750 to 1,800 tons, this recovery represents about 
60 per cent of the coal in the ground. This percentage was long 
used in commercial estimates, though at present it is usually much 
exceeded by the percentage actually recovered in all good coal min- 
ing, especially in the bituminous fields of western Pennsylvania and 
in many regions in the Central West where the longwall method of 
mining has been practiced, by which the recovery in many places is 
estimated at 90 per cent or more. 

Although a recovery of 1,000 tons per acre-foot is fixed in the regu- 
lations and is used in all computations, the value per ton assumed for 
coals thinner than 6 feet or thicker than 10 feet recognizes the re- 
covery of more than 1,000 tons per acre-foot for coal in thin beds and 
of less than 1,000 tons per acre-foot for coal in very thick beds, thus 
avoiding the use of a variable recovery factor in making individual 
computations. 

If more than one bed underlies a tract of land the early rule in 
valuing was to take the normal value of the bed likely to be worked 
first, 60 per cent of the value of the bed next worked, 40 per cent 
of the value of the next, and 30 per cent of the value of any others, 
the reduction being made on the beds not worked at first to allow for 
interest on the investment for the long period during which they re- 
mained in the ground. Fuller consideration of this subject, how- 
ever, and closer study of the operation of many mines that work 
several beds simultaneously or one immediately after the other and 
of the practical advantages of using the same plant for working beds 
either simultaneously or successively have led to the belief that these 
advantages more than outweigh the added interest that accrues dur- 
ing the longer period of holding. 

Accordingly, under the regulations now in force, consideration is 
had only of the total quantity of coal in the ground, no reduction 
being made for interest on the investment if, after allowance for 



CLASSIFICATION OF MINEKAL LANDS. 91 

the reduced value of the thin beds, the sum of the thicknesses of the 
beds does not exceed 10 feet. If the total thickness of the coal under 
a tract of land, after reduction for thin beds and for partings, is 
more than 10 feet, the total value of the coal is computed by the 
formula previously given for computing the value of thick beds. 

REDUCTION FOR DEPTH. 

It has been pointed out that the determination of the depth to 
which a coal may be profitably mined is a problem involving the 
consideration of diminishing profits. If a coal that is being mined 
near the surface is yielding a net profit of 25 cents a ton and if the 
cost of mining it increases 1 cent a ton for every 100 feet of increase 
in depth (purely an assumption), it is evident that the profits 
will disappear when the mine has reached a depth of 2,500 feet, so 
that the coal becomes unminable at a reasonable profit at some point 
of less depth, say 2,000 feet. Obviously anything that increases the 
profits — such as a gain in quality — will increase the depth of profit- 
able mining, and anything that decreases the profits — such as an in- 
crease in the cost of mining — will decrease the depth of profitable 
mining. 

If depth limits are assumed for coals of different grades and differ- 
ent thicknesses, it may also be assumed that the cost of mining in- 
creases uniformly with increase of depth, though it is strongly sus- 
pected that the cost of mining increases at an accelerating rate as 
the depth increases, but as sufficient data to prove this are not avail- 
able a uniform rate of increase has been assumed. 

If a certain coal has a normal value at any depth' within 500 feet 
of the surface its value has been assumed to reach zero at 
its depth limit, and its price has been decreased uniformly from a 
point where it goes below the 500- foot depth down to its depth limit. 
If, for example, a bed has a value of $60 an acre at the depth of 500 
feet and its depth limit is 2,500 feet, and if it reaches its depth limit 
3 miles beyond the point where it lies at a depth of 500 feet, its dip 
remaining constant, it loses a value of $60 in crossing twelve 40-acre 
tracts, or $5 for each forty. The successive forties underlain by this 
coal would therefore be valued at $55, $50, $45, $40, $35, $30, $25, and 
thence to the depth limit at $20. 

Ordinarily the depth of a bed does not increase uniformly to its 
limit, but its steepest pitch or dip is at its outcrop and its dip grad- 
ually lessens toward the center of the basin in which it lies. Its 
depth at all places is indicated on the field sheets by contour lines 
representing uniform elevations above sea level. From these contour 
lines it is possible to compute the average depth of the bed under 
any 40-acre tract, and, the rate of diminishing value having been 



92 



CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 



established by dividing the difference between the depth limit and 
500 feet by the normal value at the surface, each 40 acres can be 




DOLLARS PER ACRE 



valued accordingly. The average depth of coal in a forty that is 
crossed at an angle by the outcrop or the depth-contour lines is the 
depth at the geometrical center of the area underlain. 



CLASSIFICATION OF MINEEAL LANDS. 93 

If the dip of the coal bed whose value is given above had not 
been regular the rate of its diminishing value would have been 

~ — = $1 for each 33£ feet, so that if the depth under a given 

bO 

forty averaged 1,600 feet, the value of the forty would be 
$60 _1600__500 = $27 _ 

If more than one bed of coal underlies a 40-acre tract and the beds 
are not close together each one is valued independently and the value 
of the forty is taken as the sum of the value of the independent beds. 
If several beds occur in a group a normal value is figured out for 
the group and this value is reduced according to the depth. In fixing 
the value of a group of dipping beds allowance is made for the 
change in the value of the group due to the lower beds passing below 
the 500- foot line before the higher beds and reaching the depth limit 
before they do. 

Formulas have been worked out to facilitate the calculation of the 
value of beds involved in some of the more common types of 
computations in these cases are read directly from large diagrams. 
These diagrams contain so much matter that a reproduction of one 
of them (fig. 6) on the reduced scale necessary for publication in 
this bulletin does little more than give a general idea of their char- 
acter, particularly as they are too involved to permit their descrip- 
tion in a bulletin that is not intended to set forth details of classifica- 
tion. 

ALLOWANCE FOR FAULTS. 

Faults — that is, breaks in the rocks involving a movement of beds 
on either side of the break — occurring in a coal field depreciate the 
value of the coal for mining and in places may render it entirely 
unworkable. Small faults may be disregarded unless they are so 
numerous as to render the coal expensive or difficult to mine. If, 
however, the throw of the fault is large — that is, if the edges of 
the beds that are broken have been so far separated by movement 
at an angle to the bedding that entries can not handily be driven from 
the coal on one side of the fault to the coal on the other — the value 
of the land is clearly less than that in which there is no fault, its 
smaller value being due both to the extra cost of recovery and to 
possible crushing of the coal along the fault planes. The price of 
coal in such places is determined by considering the two parts of 
any forty traversed by the fault separately, and giving the normal 
price to the part having the higher value and 40 to 95 per cent of 
the normal price to the part having the lower value. From the total 
thus obtained 5 to 15 per cent may be deducted to allow for crushing 
along the fault plane. 



94 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 



EFFECT OF INTRUSIONS. 



Intrusions of igneous rock may affect a coal bed favorably, as 
where they occur in sheets close above or below the coal and have 
had the effect of changing it from a bituminous or lower grade of 
coal to an anthracite. The physical character and B. t. u. value 
of such coals reflect amply the favorable results of the intrusion. 
More often the intruded masses of igneous rock are in the form of 
more or less vertical dikes that cut the bed in various directions. 
Obviously these dikes detract from the value of the bed by increasing 
the cost of mining, and an allowance is made in the final price in 
accordance with their character and extent. 



ALLOWANCE FOB, OTHER FACTORS. 



In addition to the factors that have been specifically considered, 
many other factors are taken into account in valuing the land in 
any field. Of these the one for which the largest allowance is likely 
to be made is that of uncertainty. In some fields it has been possible 
to obtain measurements on the coal along its outcrop at points a 
quarter of a mile or less apart, and some of these measurements 
are supplemented by others made in drillings at points " back " from 
the outcrop, so that in such places it is possible to determine the 
" habit " of the bed with some degree of certainty. In other places, 
especially in coal fields covered with a blanket of glacial deposits, 
or in broad valleys where the coals are under an alluvial cover, or 
in other fields where, owing to almost continuous burning along 
the outcrops, it is difficult to get accurate information as to the thick- 
ness of the beds, an allowance is made for uncertainty — an allow- 
ance that may take the form of a greatly reduced estimated thickness 
of the bed or, as is more common, of a restriction of the assumed 
area of workable coal. It has been found that the coal of certain 
fields was originally deposited with more regularity in some belts 
and areas than in others, and in many places the coal was deposited 
with great regularity around the edge of a basin but not in its 
center. Allowance is made for the possible thinning of the coal in all 
such places if exact data are not at hand, and the tract is classed 
either as noncoal land or as coal land of the minimum value. Many 
other factors are taken into account, such as known poor roof or 
floor, which may seriously affect the cost of mining and the value 
of the coal in place. Allowance is made for the extra cost of mining 
beds that include partings by making deductions for partings, it 
being assumed that the extra cost due to the partings eats up the 
profits on an equal thickness of coal. 



CLASSIFICATION" OF MINEEAL LANDS. 95 

REDUCTION FOR DISTANCE FROM RAILROAD. 

Distance from railroads very largely affects the value of coal land. 
In fixing the value of Government coal land, however, distance from 
railroads is not taken into account, their value being based on that 
of the coal itself, but, in accordance with the law, the price so fixed is 
automatically reduced one-half for all lands lying more than 15 miles 
from a railroad in operation. Some land that contains coal beds, 
though within 15 miles of a railroad, can not be reached by a rail- 
road switch without going either around or over a high moun- 
tain, so that by either route its distance from the railroad practically 
exceeds the 15-mile limit. Such land is treated as if it were beyond 
the 15 -mile limit and its price is reduced one-half, though not below 
the legal minimum — $20 an acre. 

MAXIMUM PRICE. 

In view of the uncertainty that may exist concerning many features 
of an undeveloped coal field, even if the evidence seems conclusive 
that it contains a large volume of coal, the maximum price of coal 
land is fixed by the regulations at $300 a nacre, except that if the field 
in which the land is situated contains very large mines, and if the 
coal is well known in the market and its adaptability to different 
uses has been demonstrated, the price of the land is computed from 
the value of the coal it contains, whether it exceeds $300 an acre 
or not. 

REVIEW OF CLASSIFICATION. 

According to the regulations the classification of any land as coal 
land is subject to review by the Secretary of the Interior, but the 
person making the application for review must present facts that 
show clearly and specifically that the land is not coal bearing in the 
sense of that term as it is defined in the regulations. The facts set 
forth in nearly all applications for review and reclassification of coal 
land simply show that no coal can be seen outcropping on or close to 
the land and that no coal has been found in drilling wells for water 
on or near the land. Before such applications are filed request should 
be made of the Geological Survey to state the basis of the classifica- 
tion, for a large percentage of the coal land has been classified as 
such because it is underlain by coal at depths of 500 feet or more, 
whereas the rocks at the surface contain no coal and may be of entirely 
different age from the underlying coal-bearing rocks. Data presented 
in a request for reclassification have determinative value only if they 
differ from data already in the records of the Geological Survey. 



96 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

REGULATIONS FOR THE CLASSIFICATION AND VALUATION OF PUBLIC COAL 

LANDS. 

The following regulations were approved February 20, 1913, by 
Secretary of the Interior Fisher: 

H. CLASSIFICATION. 

1. Land shall be classified as coal land if it contains coal having — 

(a) A heat value of not less than 8,000 B. t. u. on an air-dried, 
unwashed or washed, unweathered mine sample. 

(J)) A thickness of or equivalent to 14 inches for coals having a 
heat value of 12,000 B. t. u. or more, increasing 1 inch for a de- 
crease from 12,000 to 11,000 B. t. u., 1 inch for a decrease from 
11,000 to 10,500 B. t. u., 1 inch for each decrease of 250 B. t. u. 
from 10,500 to 10,000, and 1 inch for each decrease of 100 B. t. u. 
below 10,000. 

(c) A depth below the surface for a bed of coal 6 feet or more 
thick of not more than 100 feet for each 300 B. t. u. or major 
fraction thereof, and for a bed of minimum thickness for that 
coal a depth of not more than 500 feet, and for beds of any thick- 
ness between the minimum and 6 feet a depth directly propor- 
tional to that thickness within these limits, provided that, if the 
coal lies below the depth limit but within a horizontal distance 
from the surface not exceeding 10 times the 'depth limit, or if its 
horizontal distance from the foot of a possible shaft (not deeper 
than the depth limit) plus 7.5 times the depth of such shaft does 
not exceed 10 times the depth limit, the land shall be classified as 
coal land; provided, further, that the depth limit shall be com- 
puted for each individual bed, except that where two or more beds 
occur in such relations that they may be mined from the same 
opening the depth limit may be determined on the group as a 
unit, being fixed at the center of weight of the group, no coal 
that is below the depth limit thus determined to be considered. 

2. Classification shall be made by quarter-quarter sections or surveyed lots, 
except that for good reason classification may be made by 2|-acre tracts or 
multiples thereof described as minor subdivisions of quarter-quarter sections or 
rectangular lotted tracts. 

II. VALUATION. 

3. For purposes of valuation the price per ton for a noncoking, nonanthracite 
coal 6 to 10 feet thick shall be one-tenth of a cent for each 1,250 B. t. u. : 

(a) Provided that the price per ton may be increased by not more 
than 100 per cent if the coal is coking, smokeless, or anthracitic 
or has other enhancing qualities ; or it may be decreased for high 
sulphur or ash, friability, or nonstocking or other qualities that 
reduce the value ; and 

(6) Provided, further, that if the coal in one bed is over 10 feet 
thick the price on each foot above 10 feet shall be reduced 1 per 
cent for each such foot (thus the reduction will be 1 per cent on 
the eleventh foot, 2 per cent on the twelfth foot, and so on) ; or 
if the coal is less than 6 feet thick the price shall be reduced by 






CLASSIFICATION OF MINERAL LANDS. 97 

4-L-t 

multiplying the normal value by -jx-> where t equals thickness 

in feet; and 
(c) Provided that where the thickness of any bed varies irregu- 
larly its computed thickness (CT) over any area shall be equal 
to the average of the measurements (AM) less the sum of the 
differences between each measurement and the average of the 
measurements (SD) divided by the sum of the measure- 
ments (S) : 

CT=AM-^5 

4. The value of any acre within 15 miles of a railroad in operation shall be 
determined at the rate per ton prescribed above on an estimated recoverable 
tonnage of 1,000 tons to the acre-foot: 

Provided that if the coal is in several beds having an aggregate 
thickness of more than 10 feet if beds less than 6 feet thick are 
considered at the reduced thickness as prescribed above, the 
value due to each foot above 10 feet shall be reduced 1 per cent 
for each such foot (as in computing the price per ton on a single 
thick bed) up to a thickness of 80 feet, above which any addi- 
tional thickness shall be valued at 30 per cent of the normal 
value. 

5. This price shall be decreased one-half if the land is more than 15 miles 
from a railroad in operation, or if it is within that limit but inaccessible owing 
to topographic conditions; but no land shall be valued at less than the legal 
minimum price, nor shall the price of any land exceed $300 an acre except in 
districts which contain large coal mines and where the character and extent of 
the coal are well known. 

6. Within the above restrictions a graded allowance shall be made for increas- 
ing depth, and allowance may be made for any special conditions enhancing or 
diminishing the value of the land for coal mining. 

7. If only a part of a smallest legal subdivision is underlain by coal the price 
per acre shall be fixed by dividing the total estimated coal values by the number 
of acres in the subdivision, but this price shall not be less than the minimum 
provided by law. 

8. When lands which were at the time of classification more than 15 miles 
from a railroad are brought within the 15-mile limit by the beginning of opera- 
tion of a new road, all values given in the original classification shall be doubled 
by the register and receiver. 

9. Review of classification or valuation may be had only on application there- 
for to the Secretary, accompanied by a clear and specific statement of conditions 
not existing or not known to exist at the time of examination. 

RESTORATION. 

After the classifications and valuations are completed the lands are 
restored to entry. Those that contain no coal resume the status that 
they had prior to the withdrawal. The coal lands, after restoration, 
may be acquired under the coal-land laws at the valuation prices, 
surface entry under the agricultural-land laws and the State selection 
78894°— Bull. 537—13 7 



98 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

acts being permitted at any time prior to their alienation under the 
coal-land laws. A typical order of restoration is given below. 

Department of the Interior, 

United States Geological Survey, 

Washington, February 12, 1913. 
The honorable the Secretary of the Interior. 

Sir: The classification of the lands listed below, which are included in an 
existing withdrawal, has been completed and reported to the Land Office, and I 
therefore recommend the submission to the President, for appropriate action, of 
the following order of restoration, involving 264,009 acres, all noncoal. These 
lands are not included in petroleum or phosphate reserves or in national forests, 
but part are within a power-site reserve. 

Very respectfully, Geo. Otis Smith, 

Director. 

February 18, 1913. 
Respectfully referred to the President with favorable recommendation. 

Walter L. Fisher, 

Secretary. 

Order of Restoration. 

Coal-land restoration — Idaho No. 10. 

So much of the order of withdrawal made heretofore for the purpose of coal- 
land classification, namely, Idaho No. 1, as affects the lands hereinafter described 
is hereby revoked for the reason that the Director of the Geological Survey has 
classified these lands. This revocation does not affect withdrawals or reserva- 
tions other than as above set forth. 

Boise meridian. 

T. 35 N, R. 1 B., all of township. 
[Here follows the remainder of the land description.] 

Wm. H. Taft, 

President. 
February 18, 1913. 

FIELD WORK ON COAL LANDS. 
GENERAL NATURE OF THE WORK. 

The second general step in the process of classification is to obtain 
in the field the information there available that is necessary for the 
classification. Field work that is done expressly for the classifica- 
tion of coal land involves all research that is made in general geologic 
field work but gives special weight to certain factors. The informa- 
tion needed for classifying coal land relates to (1) location, (2) 
stratigraphy, (3) horizontal extent and thickness of coal beds, (4) 
vertical position, and (5) quality of the coal. These may be taken 
up in turn. 



CLASSIFICATION OF MINEEAL LANDS. 99 



LOCATION. 



In work done for classification all the points or features concern- 
ing which information is obtained in the field must be accurately 
located with reference to the land lines, for if locations are not 
exactly specified the information is of little value. For example, a 
geologist may study an outcrop of a 30- foot bed of coal, measure its 
sections, photograph it, and sample and analyze the coal to determine 
its quality or test it in any other way, but if, when he has done all 
these things, he can not tell whether the outcrop is in sec. 31 or sec. 
32 of a given township, the information he has gathered is entirely 
valueless for purposes of classification. It is therefore necessary 
that all the features to which his information relates be accurately 
located on his field maps, with special reference to township and 
range lines, section lines, and quarter-section lines, and even accu- 
rately within the 40-acre tracts, as it is desirable to know exactly 
how many acres of the forty are underlain by coal in order to 
determine the value of that particular forty. The methods of survey 
by which the geology is tied as accurately as possible to the public- 
land net have been described in a preceding chapter. 



STRATIGRAPHY. 



The first purpose of gaining a thorough knowledge of the stratig- 
raphy is to be able to recognize groups of rocks that are coal bear- 
ing elsewhere or to recognize other rocks that the wide experience 
and knowledge now available concerning the geology of the 
Western States have shown not to be coal bearing. The second 
purpose is to determine, from such data as may be obtained on the 
surface, the " lay " or structure of the coal-bearing formation and 
the groups of coal beds it contains. 

Just as in the Eastern States it has been found that workable 
coal beds are confined to a particular part of one large group of rocks, 
which has long been designated the " coal measures," so in the West 
it has been found that workable coal beds are confined to relatively 
few groups of rocks, which are separated usually by great thicknesses 
of other rocks that are nowhere known to contain workable coal beds. 
As the sedimentary rocks of the West consist mainly of sandstones, 
shales, and limestones, those of like lithologic character being simi- 
lar to one another in general appearance, the particular sand- 
stones and shales with which the coal beds are associated can 
as a rule be distinguished only by means of the fossil plants or 
animals that are associated with them. Thus it has been found 
necessary to employ the services of several experienced paleontolo- 
gists to examine the fossils associated with the rocks and from 
these fossils to determine the age of coal-bearing formations. 



100 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

The first step of the geologist who has been sent into a field or 
area that is known or has been reported to contain workable coals is 
usually to determine what groups of rocks occur in that region and 
then, knowing the groups of rocks that contain workable coal beds in 
other places, to concentrate his attention on those groups, hunting for 
coals in them. Having found the coals his next work is to determine 
the number of groups of coals, as the same territory may contain 
two or three or even more coal-bearing formations, though usually 
they occur in different parts of the same field. His next step is to 
examine the several coal-bearing formations in order to determine, 
if possible, the number of coal beds in each. This work naturally 
leads to the determination of the areal extent and thickness of the 
beds. 

EXTENT AND THICKNESS OF COAL BEDS. 

Coal is a rock that has been formed from vegetal matter. The 
vegetation may have grown where the coal bed is now found, much 
as it grows in the great peat bogs of Europe or some of the large 
swamp areas of this country, or it may have been washed or drifted 
from the place where it grew to the place where it now occurs as coal. 
In changing from a mass of decaying vegetal matter to a bed of 
coal its volume has decreased and its weight per cubic foot has greatly 
increased. It has also lost many of the elements of the* plants, es- 
pecially the moisture they contained, and if during its formation 
the coal bed was inundated by muddy waters its vegetal matter 
may have been overlain or intermingled with sand or mud. This 
material may have been added in small quantities at frequent inter- 
vals, simply rendering the coal " dirty," or it may have come in at 
long intervals and then in large quantity so as to form a blanket 
of mud or sand, which, being covered by renewed accumulations of 
vegetal matter, becomes a parting of clay or sandstone in the coal 
bed. In a few places a single coal bed has been deposited in a 
formation, and thousands of feet of other rocks have been laid down 
beneath and above it, no other coals having been formed. More fre- 
quently, however, where coal-forming conditions have existed they 
seem to have recurred in such a way that a succession or series of 
coal beds are laid down in the same area. In one region most of the 
coals in a group deposited in that way may be thicker in the same 
general area, and all the beds may tend to thin away from that area. 
In another region one bed of a group may be thicker in one locality 
and a higher bed of the same group may be thicker in another locality. 

Coal beds vary greatly in extent, ranging from pothole fillings 
having about the shape though not the size of a kettle to flat- 
lying beds thousands of square miles in extent. In Missouri a num- 
ber of coal beds have a thickness in places of 90 feet or more and 



CLASSIFICATION - OF MINERAL LANDS. 101 

an areal extent of only a few hundred feet or less, being simply 
fillings of deep holes in the rock, similar in shape to the "pot- 
holes " that are so abundant around some waterfalls. In other 
places, as in the Sharon field of Ohio, the coal bed has the shape 
of a valley, with branches where side streams have come in, and 
a single mine may follow one of these valleys for some distance, 
the coal being confined to a width of perhaps a few hundred yards 
but extending indefinitely up and down the valley, which in some 
places winds tortuously. In still other places, as in the Block 
coal field of Indiana, the coal occurs in a succession of shallow 
basins, the beds having a thickness of 3 to 5 feet in each basin and 
thinning out to a few inches between the basins. The bottoms of 
the basins lie 20 to 30 feet below their rims. Some of these basins 
are so small and so close together that the coal from* several of them 
is extracted by a single mine, the entries being cut through the rock 
from the lower level of one basin to the lower level of the next 
basin. Other basins have a length of 2 or 3 miles in a northwest- 
southeast direction and a width of one-half mile or more. Some of 
the individual beds can be traced from basin to basin and clearly 
recognized by peculiarities in the coal. In other fields the coal ap- 
pears to have been deposited unevenly in little depressions that are 
scattered irregularly over a large territory and lie at various levels, 
so that it is not possible to trace a bed from* one point to another, 
and each little basin must be considered as a unit. From these types 
of irregular and narrowly limited coal beds every gradation may be 
found to some of the relatively even and continuous beds of the 
West, the extensive beds of the central interior coal fields, or the 
Pittsburgh and other beds of the East, which have an outcrop line 
hundreds or even thousands of miles in extent and were laid down in 
a more or less continuous sheet, many of them -covering thousands of 
square miles. Thus the Pittsburgh bed has a known extent of over 
6.000 square miles and is found in isolated areas beyond the limits of 
the main bed. Other Appalachian coal beds are of much greater 
extent, some of them, as the Lower Kittanning, having many times 
the areal extent of the Pittsburgh bed, though not its regularity. 

Certain coal beds in the Illinois fields have been traced without 
question as to their identification over a large part of that State, 
through a portion of western Kentucky, and through the entire 
length of the Indiana coal field. It is believed that many of the coal 
beds of the Western States are also traceable over large areas. Most 
of these widely extended coal beds have certain slight but definite 
features or peculiarities or are associated with other rocks of dis- 
tinctive character, so that it is possible to recognize them at any 
point. The peculiarity of a bed may consist of some particular type 
of parting or arrangement of partings which may hold for long dis- 



102 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LAKDS. 

tances, or it may consist of the presence just above or below the bed of 
a stratum that has easily recognizable characteristics. In order to 
trace and identify some coal beds it is necessary to study their rela- 
tions to one another. One of the main reasons for studying the 
stratigraphy is to identify if possible at the outset the group of coals 
studied, and in this work note should be taken of the determinations 
reached by the wide study of the same formations in previous seasons. 
For example, in the great coal field that covers much of western North 
Dakota and part of South Dakota, all of southeastern Montana and 
the great Powder River field of Wyoming, there are two coal- 
bearing formations — the Fort Union above, named from its early 
recognition at Fort Union in North Dakota, and the Lance forma- 
tion below, named from the occurrence of those rocks on Lance 
Creek in Wyoming. The Fort Union coals are as a rule persistent ; 
they have local thicknesses of 10 to 30 feet or more, and some of 
them can be traced for hundreds of miles along their outcrop, and 
individual beds can be recognized from point to point. On the other 
hand, the Lance coals occur as a rule in small lenses, most of them 
a fraction of a mile or a very few miles in extent. The coal in these 
lenses ordinarily is but little above the minimum workable limit and 
thins rapidly to nonworkable thickness in all directions. If the 
geologist knows that the coals in any particular area are in the Fort 
Union or Lance formation he knows what to expect concerning them, 
for if he finds that they are of Lance age and he is studying at the 
moment the coal at a point where it is workable, he is careful to 
trace it if possible in order to see how far it may extend before it 
becomes unworkable, so as to determine as closely as practicable the 
extent of that particular lens. If, on the other hand, he knows 
that the coal before him is of Fort Union age he attempts to de- 
termine, if possible, what particular coal bed in the Fort Union it 
is, and, assuming that he will find that same bed in a large part of the 
country ahead of him and that he will judge of its thickness by com- 
bining a great number of measurements made over a large territory, 
he does not with the same attention attempt to discover whether the 
coal pinches out a short distance on either side of the point where he is 
standing. In all of this work it is, of course, not safe to assume too 
much, for toward the south end of the Powder River field the beds of 
coal in the Lance formation increase in extent and thickness^ so that 
they more nearly resemble those of the Fort Union formation, farther 
north. 

It is not advisable to assume absolutely that, because in some area 
already examined a coal bed is very extensive and keeps the same 
thickness with great regularity, it will continue to be extensive and 
regular in territory that may be studied later. For example, the 
Pittsburgh bed, which maintains a very uniform thickness over a 



CLASSIFICATION" OF MINERAL LANDS. 103 

large area in western Pennsylvania, becomes very irregular in south- 
ern Ohio, so much so that it has been wrongly identified, and it is 
only within a few years that the bed there identified as the Pitts- 
burgh has been shown to be another coal higher in the series. Like- 
wise, in the Illinois-Indiana field coal V, which is probably the most 
persistent bed in that field and can be traced along its outcr6p for 
thousands of miles with great regularity, pinches out in parts of 
Greene County, Ind., close to other localities where it shows its 
greatest thickness; and, again, in Warrick County it loses its usual 
characteristic roof and is split into two distinct beds. In the same 
way many of the coals in the West that on casual scrutiny appear to 
be persistent prove, when studied in detail, especially in connection 
with mining operations or where close prospecting has been done 
with a drill, to vary considerably both in thickness and in distance 
apart. For example, at Castlegate, Utah, four beds are at one 
point separated by 50 feet, 20 feet, and 14 feet of strata, whereas a 
short distance away these intervening rocks pinch out and the four 
beds, which separately are on the average only about 3 feet thick, 
come together to make a single bed 12 feet thick. Drilling in that 
field has shown that all the beds tend to be very irregular, splitting 
and combining again and changing in thickness, so that in tracing 
them from drilling to drilling it may be found that though each core 
shows certain workable beds, yet a bed that is thick at one point is 
thin at the next. Detailed work in many of the eastern fields where 
extensive mining operations have afforded minute data in regard to 
the coal, or where thousands of dollars have been expended in 
drilling, has shown that even the most persistent of the beds are sub- 
ject to variations, so that a bed which can be traced from one mine 
to another over a whole county and which, may show a variation 
of only a few inches from mine to mine may suddenly, in mining 
parlance, " go to pieces." It is therefore the special work of the 
field geologist not only to locate the coal ®n the ground but to make 
as detailed a study as possible of its thickness and extent in order 
to learn just how far it maintains a workable thickness, how per- 
sistently it maintains a given thickness, and whether it is likely to 
vary greatly from point to point and also to determine, so far as he 
can, any or all of its features. Space does not permit the detailed de- 
scription here of all the possible irregularities that may occur in a coal 
bed, for which the field geologist must be on the lookout. 

In some fields the coal beds are exposed in cliffs or steep slopes in 
such a way that the coal may be seen almost continuously for many 
miles. In such places the geologist takes the opportunity to make 
a careful study of the regularity or irregularity of the coal beds with 
reference both to their thickness and to the variability or regularity 



104 CLASSIFICATION" OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

in thickness and in character of the intervening rocks and of the 
spaces between the beds. In regions in which the beds are not well 
exposed it may be possible, from a knowledge of the position of a 
bed with reference to other rocks which show on the surface, to 
determine exactly the position of the particular coal under considera- 
tion and, by means of a very small amount of digging, to expose the 
bed so that its thickness and partings can be measured. In some 
coal fields hundreds of such openings have been made in the study 
of the bed. In other fields the beds occur in rocks that weather down 
to soils rapidly, and it may be only where a coal bed crosses a stream 
or is otherwise exposed that it can be located or seen. It may be 
difficult to trace such a bed from point to point, and in some places 
where exposures are several miles apart it may be difficult or impos- 
sible to determine exactly its position. In other places beds may be 
traced readily, but the fact that they have been burned continuously 
along their outcrops makes it difficult to get accurate information 
concerning their character and thickness. It is of course possible to 
map the position of the coal bed in such places and it is then neces- 
sary, from such information as can be obtained concerning the thick- 
ness and character of the coal, to infer its character at points between 
these places. It is especially in such areas that a general knowledge 
of the " habits " of the bed or group of beds assists in their classifica- 
tion, for if it is known that a particular bed, whose burned outcrop 
has been traced with detailed measurements perhaps at only one or 
two places in a township, occurs at a certain horizon in a certain 
formation, it is possible to surmise whether it is regular or irregu- 
lar in the broad area between these exposures, where no information 
on the bed itself can be obtained. Again, it may be possible, by mak- 
ing a careful study of a coal in a mining region, to apply the infor- 
mation to a wide area where but scanty information on the coal 
itself can be obtained. Wherever the coal is exposed the field man 
makes careful examination and measurement of every possible sec- 
tion, measuring down to the fraction of an inch, even though, where 
the bed is irregular, it is recognized that another measurement made 
a short distance away may be quite different. Where a bed is irregu- 
lar special effort is made to obtain as many measurements as 
possible, in order to obtain average figures for use in the classification 
and valuation of the land underlain by that bed. In some places 
where the data are very meager, as in regions where the rocks crum- 
ble to soil and the land is largely meadow land, considerable time 
has been given to making openings on the coal because of the neces- 
sity of having actual information and measurements as a basis for 
classification. 






CLASSIFICATION OF MINERAL LANDS. l05 

ATTITUDE AND DEPTH OF THE COAL. 

As already stated, the coal throughout wide areas lies entirely 
below the level of drainage — in places hundreds or even thousands 
of feet below — and the outcrops of the particular coal beds on which 
land is classified as coal land may be scores of miles away. It there- 
fore becomes necessary for the field man to determine as accurately 
as possible not only the position of the coal outcrop with reference 
to the land lines and the thickness of the coal as exposed along the 
outcrop or the extent of the lenses, but also the depth of the bed 
beneath the surface and its attitude as it dips into the basin. He 
does this, first, by studying the inclination of the coal beds where 
they dip into the ground and, next, by studying the inclination and 
thickness of the other rocks that overlie them. As coal beds lie 
more or less nearly parallel with layers of sandstone, shale, and 
limestone, one of his duties is to determine how nearly the coal beds 
are parallel with these other rock layers. If he finds by observation 
at many points that there is very little variation in the interval, say 
300 feet, between a limestone bed above and the coal bed that he is 
studying, he may assume that the dip of that limestone bed measured 
possibly at a point a mile back from the outcrop of the coal indi- 
cates the dip of the coal beneath that point at a level 300 feet below 
the surface. If, again, he finds that some other rock bed a thousand 
feet above the coal bed is parallel to it, he may assume that a measure- 
ment of the dip of that bed taken 5 or 10 miles back from the coal 
outcrop may indicate rather closely the dip of the coal bed itself 
1,000 feet below. Hence the field geologist must not only study the 
details of the coal bed along its outcrop, but must also study the 
geology of the area back of that outcrop, especially with reference 
to the dip of the rocks. If, as sometimes happens, he finds that 
the space between a coal bed and the overlying rocks is variable, he 
can not compute the depth of the coal bed so closely. In some places all 
the rocks associated with certain coal beds, having the same great folds 
and basins, have been overspread by a blanket of other rocks that 
do not have the same structure. Such a blanket may completely hide 
not only the coal-bearing formation but the other formations that are 
associated with it and that have been folded in the same way. In 
such places it is only possible to infer from broad general knowledge 
of the field how deep the coals may lie below the surface. 

QUALITY OF THE COAX. 

The character and quality of a coal can be determined in part by 
a simple examination of the coal bed. Thus it is possible in most 
examinations to determine whether a coal is a lignite, a subbitumi- 



106 CLASSIFICATION" OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

nous coal, a bituminous, a cannel, or an anthracite coal. It may also 
be possible to estimate rather closely whether or not a coal contains 
a large amount of ash. Where small mines or prospects have been 
opened it may be possible, by studying the coal on the dump, to 
determine whether the coal can be shipped or stocked, or the extent 
to which it tends to crumble under the action of the atmosphere. 

The final tests, however, are the chemical test, consisting of an 
analysis of the coal, which shows fully its percentage of the various 
heat-giving elements and of the ash and other elements that do not 
yield heat but detract from its value, and the test of its heat-giving 
value in the calorimeter. Experience has shown that coal of certain 
kinds — especially low-grade coal — changes in chemical composition 
very rapidly when exposed to the weather, so that in getting samples 
for analysis it has been found necessary, in order that the samples 
may be fairly compared and may form the basis of a uniform system 
of classification and valuation, that they be taken with great care 
in a uniform manner and that the treatment of each sample from 
the time it is taken until it is analyzed shall follow certain standards. 
To this end certain regulations have been prepared in regard to the 
method of obtaining coal samples for analysis and are consistently 
enforced. These regulations in brief are as follows : 

1. Select a fresh face of unweathered coal at the point where the sample is 
to be obtained and clean it of all powder stains and other impurities. 

2. Spread a piece of oilcloth or rubber cloth on the floor so as to catch the 
particles of coal as they are cut and to keep out impurities and excessive mois- 
ture where the floor is wet. Such a cloth should be about 1| by 2 yards in size 
and should be so spread as to catch all the material composing the sample. 

3. Cut a channel perpendicularly across the face of the coal bed from roof to 
floor, with the exceptions noted in paragraph 4, of such size as to yield at least 
6 pounds of coal per foot of thickness of coal bed ; that is, 6 pounds for a bed 1 
foot thick, 12 pounds for a bed 2 feet thick, 24 pounds for a bed 4 feet thick, etc. 

4. All material encountered in such a cut should be included in the sample, 
except partings or binders more than three-eighths inch in thickness and lenses 
or concretions of " sulphur " or other impurities greater than 2 inches in 
maximum diameter and one-half inch in thickness. 

5. If the sample is wet, it should be taken out of the mine and dried until 
all sensible moisture has been driven off. 

6. If the coal is not visibly moist, it should be pulverized and quartered down 
inside the mine to avoid changes in moisture, which take place rapidly when 
fine coal is exposed to different atmospheric conditions. The coal should be pul- 
verized until it will pass through a sieve with one-half inch mesh, and then, after 
thorough mixing, it should be divided into quarters and opposite quarters re- 
jected. The operation of mixing and quartering should be repeated until a 
sample of the desired size is obtained. When the work has been properly done 
a quart sample is sufficient to send for chemical analysis. This sample should 
be sealed in either a glass jar or a screw-top can with adhesive tape over the 
joint and sent to the chemical laboratory for analysis. 



CLASSIFICATION OF MINERAL LANDS. 107 

Since the value of the land varies with the quality of the coal as 
determined by the chemist, his methods are briefly described here. 1 
Immediately after the sample is received at the laboratory it is 
weighed and placed in a shallow tin pan in a large drying oven, in 
which a temperature of 30° to 35° C. is maintained. The sample 
remains exposed to currents of warm air in the oven until the loss 
between two successive weighings made six to eight hours apart does 
not vary more than 0.2 per cent. The loss of weight in the oven is 
called air-drying loss. 

After being air dried the sample is crushed to a fine powder and 
thoroughly mixed. To determine the amount of moisture remaining 
in the coal after air drying, a 1-gram sample is heated for an hour 
at 105° C. and then cooled in a desiccator over sulphuric acid. The 
moisture in the sample is thus driven off, hence the percentage of 
loss represents the percentage of moisture in the coal. The remain- 
ing part of the sample is next used to determine the amount of ash 
in the coal. This determination is made by slowly heating the 
sample in a muffle furnace until all of the combustible matter is 
burned off. The remainder is ash. The volatile matter is deter- 
mined from a fresh 1-gram sample in a 30-gram platinum crucible, 
with a close-fitting cover, heated for seven minutes over a Bunsen 
flame 20 centimeters high. The loss in weight minus the moisture at 
105° C. is the weight of the volatile combustible matter. The sulphur 
is determined on a separate example by what is known as the Eschka 
method. The percentage of fixed carbon given in the analysis is the 
difference between 100 per cent and the sum of moisture, volatile 
combustible matter, and ash. 

The calorific value of a coal, or the amount of heat that can be 
obtained from it, is the most important factor in classification and 
valuation. 

The calorific value of coal is determined with a bomb calorimeter. 
The following is a brief description of the details of operation : 

A 1-gram sample of coal (60-mesh) in a platinum tray is placed 
in the bomb and the lid is screwed down tightly against a lead 
gasket. Oxygen is forced into the bomb until the pressure is 18 to 
20 atmospheres. The bomb, filled with oxygen, is placed in a brass 
bucket containing distilled water, the bucket having been previously 
placed in an insulated jacket. 

The coal is ignited by electric current and is burned at once. The 
heat of combustion is transmitted through the walls of the bomb and 
is manifested in a rise in the temperature of the water. This rise 
in temperature is measured by a very delicate thermometer. The 

1 The methods of analyzing coal and coke are fully described in Technical Paper No. 8, 
Bureau of Mines, by Frederick M. Stanton and Arno C. Fieldner. The method outlined 
here is summarized from that paper. 



108 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

quantity of heat given off by the burning of the coal is determined 
by multiplying the product of the weights of the metal and water 
in the apparatus and their respective specific heats by the rise in 
temperature. The result thus obtained is calculated into terms of 
calories and British thermal units. 

PREPARATION OF MATERIAL. 

The preparation of material by the field man, so that it may be 
considered to the best advantage in the work of classification and 
valuation, has already been considered in the chapter entitled " Prepa- 
ration of data for classification," immediately preceding the discus- 
sion of the classification of coal lands. 

PROCEDURE IN CLASSIFICATION AND VALUATION. 

In the actual work of classification of coal lands each area under 
consideration must be treated individually, yet in general a definite 
line of procedure is followed. 

The first step is to assemble all the available data, including not only 
the maps and reports of the geologists who may have made a special 
examination of the field, but the reports of any special agents of the 
Land Office who have been in that field, as well as all reports of 
geologists who may have visited the field at some earlier time (prob- 
ably for some other purpose) and all other available information 
concerning the land or the coal it may contain. The land-classifica- 
tion board has a system of graphic records which show at once the 
existence of any reports on the field and give references to them, so 
that when the case is taken up all the data available are at hand. As 
a matter of fact the field man will usually have familiarized himself 
with all these earlier data and will be prepared to present them as 
may be necessary. 

The second step is to scrutinize carefully all these data, and by their 
aid to take the action or to obtain the information listed under the 
following heads: 

1. The number, names, character, and other features of the coal- 
bearing formations are determined. As most of these formations 
extend over large areas, some of them crossing several States, a gen- 
eral knowledge of the formations at once suggests the probable con- 
ditions to be found in the field studied, ,and that general knowledge 
may strongly affect the action to be taken in classification and 
valuation. 

2. The number of coal horizons or groups of horizons is 
ascertained. 

3. The thickness of each coal bed over the field is determined, if 
it can be traced. If each bed can not be traced the group of coals 



CLASSIFICATION OF MINERAL LANDS. ' 109 

is studied as a whole to determine from point to point the number 
of beds and their aggregate thickness and value. 

4. The basing value per ton of the coal is computed by comparing 
its analyses and its obvious character with the standard scale. An 
average B. t. u. value having been fixed for the coals of the field 
or for the different groups of coals, the other qualities of the coal — 
such as its adaptability to coking or to stocking — are studied to de- 
termine whether they enhance that value or detract from it and the 
price is raised or lowered accordingly. 

5. If the field is small and the data are scattered the field may be 
studied as a unit. If the data are abundant in any township the 
coals in that township are studied by themselves, and, exceptionally, 
the variation in thickness may make it necessary to divide a town- 
ship into belts or areas, in each of which a basing value of the 
groups is determined. 

6. All sections of the coal are examined, and if the coal beds are 
split the equivalent thickness of a solid bed is computed and a memo- 
randum of the results is placed beside the drawn section. Then 
further reduction is made for the reduced value of the bed, if it is 
less than 6 or more than 10 feet thick. If a bed is variable in thick- 
ness but varies so regularly that lines of equal thickness can be drawn 
on a map of the field these lines are so redrawn as to indicate the 
reduced thickness determined by allowance for their reduced value 
if the thickness is less than 6 or more than 10 feet. If the beds are 
of irregular thickness the average of the measurements taken is ob- 
tained, and by the use of the " modulus of irregularity " a computed 
average thickness is obtained for use in valuation. 

7. The outcrops of the coals are examined to determine which are 
workable coals and especially to make note of the outcrop of the 
lowest bed or the bed covering the largest area. Where the coal lies 
in one or more lenses a computation of its gradation in thickness is 
made between points at one of which the coal is below the minimum 
thickness and at the other is above, to determine the position of the 
minimum. The limits of workable coal having been determined for 
certain points, the limits of the lenses of the coal are drawn on the 
maps. For isolated measurements at points where the bed is above 
the minimum limit the extent and character of the several lenses 
measured are determined, special formulas being applied where 
possible. 

8. If the coal passes below the depth limit of workable coal the 
position of that limit is determined and indicated on the map. 

9. The limit of workable coal having now been determined, a line 
is drawn on a plat along the 40-acre lines, or. where necessary, along 
the 10, 5, or 2J acre lines in the forty, to separate the area that con- 



110 • CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

tains workable coal from the area that does not contain workable 
coal. The latter area is then plainly marked " noncoal," and if the 
land is only to be classified and not valued a copy of the plat is made 
on a blank township sheet to show accurately the coal land and the 
noncoal land. This copy, after checking and proper designation, is 
dated and signed by the members of the coal section of the board. 
Its later history is the same as if valuation had been made. 

10. The tract or township may now be valued. The particular 
steps at this point may vary greatly, depending on the complications 
involved in the valuation. It may be that the coals are of a grade 
so low that, like the low-grade lignites, regardless of their thickness, 
they will be valued only at the minimum. Or it may be that the 
tract contains only one thin bed that lies flat and at slight depth, so 
that the land may be valued at the minimum or perhaps at a uni- 
form price. From these simple conditions there will be conditions 
grading in complexity all the way to those found in such fields as, for 
example, the Rock Springs field of Wyoming, where there are three 
groups of beds of coal of different age, character, and quality, each 
group containing from six to eighteen coal beds, and where each coal 
bed has been accurately traced by means of hundreds of measure- 
ments made on the coal in each township, both along the outcrop and in 
mines and drillings. Owing to differences in quality and thickness 
coals have different depth limits. They may also vary in dip and may 
be locally broken by faulting or by igneous intrusions. The value 
of the land that is involved in these complications is computed by 
using printed blanks that contain columns arranged to show not only 
the observed data on each bed in each 40-acre tract, but also the com- 
puted values of each bed, ending with the computed value of the 40 
acres. This completed blank becomes part of the permanent record, 
so that, if additional data are obtained or if for any reason the valu- 
ation should be reviewed, it shows not only the field data but the steps 
that have led to the final result. As values are determined they are 
recorded on a blank township sheet and if the data are abundant and 
complicated the coal boundaries may be drawn on transparent over- 
sheets, on which the computed valuation prices are placed. This 
sheet is properly labeled, dated, and signed by the members of the 
coal section. 

11. As the land in a township is classified and valued memoranda 
are prepared to show the basis for any criteria used, and all these 
memoranda, with blank forms showing the computations and allow- 
ances, are retained as " minutes " and, when reviewed and signed, by 
the members of the coal section, form a part of the permanent record. 



OIL AND GAS LANDS. Ill 

PROGRESS IN CLASSIFICATION AND VALUATION. 

The following statement shows the status of the work of classi- 
fication on January 1, 1913: 

Progress of coal-land classification to January 1, 1913. 
Total withdrawals acres— 128, 147, 312 

Area classified and valued as coal land do 16, 433, 817 

Area classified as coal land, price not fixed do 841, 706 

Area classified as noncoal land do 42, 244, 682 

Restored without classification do 2, 717, 395 

Total restorations do 62,237,600 

Total withdrawals less total restorations (total out- 
standing withdrawals) acres__ 65,909,712 

Value of coal land at classified price $702, 157, 268 

Value at minimum price $279,122,661 

OIL AND GAS LANDS. 
OCCURRENCE OF OIL AND GAS. 

To the minds of many people who find little difficulty in compre- 
hending a classification of lands containing deposits of coal or phos- 
phate the possibility of applying a similar classification to lands 
containing oil and gas, especially in advance of actual drilling, 
appears uncertain, to say the least, and, according to the nature and 
experience of the individual critic, such a classification is looked upon 
either as a more or less scientific guess or as evidence of the possession 
of supernatural powers by the classifier. The classification of oil and 
gas lands, however, calls for the use of no mysterious or haphazard 
methods but is based on detailed field examinations, followed by 
careful consideration of all the available facts, geologic and economic, 
in their relation to one another and to the known principles of the 
occurrence of oil, which have been proved again and again in the 
development of oil fields throughout the world. Although the ulti- 
mate test of the presence of oil in commercial quantities is made with 
the drill, it is nevertheless a fact that the intelligent application of 
the principles of oil accumulation to the geologic facts observed will 
indicate at least the areas where no oil will be found and will go far 
toward delimiting the areas where production is reasonably certain. 
To the classifier of oil lands, as to the oil-well driller, the theories 
proposed to account for the origin of oil and gas are of only inci- 
dental interest; the problem of prime importance to him comprises 
the assignment of proper values to the many factors which influence 
accumulation and the determination therefrom of the present posi- 
tion and extent of the deposits. 



112 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

Oil and gas are composed for the most part of carbon and hydro- 
gen, but they vary greatly in the proportions of these elements and 
in the way in which they are combined. The petroleum oils range 
from low-grade heavy oils containing much asphalt to high-grade 
light oils which contain a large percentage of paraffin and volatile 
constituents and little or no asphalt. The heaviest oil is chiefly valu- 
able as fuel, for which it is used in its crude state. Progressively 
lighter oils are used less and less for fuel and more and m'ore for the 
other products that are obtained from them. There is a general 
opinion that weight for weight the fuel value of light and heavy oils 
is about equal, but because of the value of the distillates from the 
lighter oils it may be stated in general that the lighter the oil the 
greater its value. 

In classifying lands as to their probable content of oil and gas it 
must be borne in mind that oil and gas are mobile substances and 
that, owing to their mobility and to the resulting increased impor- 
tance of gravitation, temperature, hydrostatic pressure, and capil- 
larity, it is necessary to make certain variations from the type of 
procedure employed in classifying lands containing coal, phosphate, 
or other stable minerals. The mobility of oil and gas has, in many 
regions, permitted their migration through varying thicknesses of 
pervious strata to their present places of accumulation, so that the 
problem is not to discover where the hydrocarbons originated but 
rather where they have accumulated. 

The present position of these accumulations depends mainly on 
the character of the strata, the attitude of the strata (commonly 
spoken of as the rock structure) , the presence or absence of water, and 
the character and specific gravity of the oil. The fluid hydrocarbons 
do not, as is supposed by some, occupy underground lakes or reser- 
voirs surrounded by walls of rock. Instead they saturate porous 
rocks in places where the geologic structure, the conditions with 
regard to underground water, and the succession of strata are such 
that the accumulations are sealed by relatively impervious beds. 
Thus, although the accumulations of oil or gas are called "pools," 
they are not to be confused with such, pools as are formed by the 
collection of liquids upon the surface of the ground. The porous 
stratum in which the hydrocarbon collects is often spoken of as an 
oil or gas " sand," although it may in reality be sandstone, gravel, 
limestone, or a zone of fractured rock. Into this " sand " the hydro- 
carbon comes from* one or another* source, but if there is to be an 
accumulation of importance the migration of the oil or gas along 
this pervious bed must be stopped by a change in dip or by some 
other obstacle to continued progress, and, in addition, the reservoir 
thus formed must be sealed by strata that are relatively impervious, 



OIL AND GAS LANDS. 113 

such as compact shales, clays, or fine-grained sandy beds saturated 
with water. 

The accumulations within the United States may be divided 
roughly into three classes, as indicated below. 

1. Those occurring in strata of sandstone or limestone bounded 
above and below by rocks comparatively impervious to oil. The 
sandstone or limestone may be of broad or of very narrow extent, 
in some places comprising merely small lenses of porous material 
embedded in relatively impervious rocks, in others underlying hun- 
dreds of square miles of territory in comparatively regular beds. 
To this class belong the greater number of oil accumulations of this 
country. 

2. Those occurring in porous strata, apparently lenticular, asso- 
ciated with the " salt domes " of the Gulf Coastal Plain. 

3. Those occurring in fissures in shale, as in the Florence field of 
Colorado. The fracturing of other rocks, such "as limestone and 
sandstone, affords favorable conditions for the accumulation of oil; 
but sandstone and, under certain conditions, limestone are capable 
of storing oil without fracturing, the fracturing merely increasing 
their capacity. A fine-grained shale, on the contrary, although 
capable of containing oil, does not permit its migration through the 
rock mass with sufficient rapidity for collection in wells unless the 
shale is broken by fissures, which serve as channels or reservoirs for 
the slowly migrating oil. 

It may be stated as a fundamental principle that important accu- 
mulations of petroleum and natural gas are to be found only in 
stratified or sedimentary rocks. Regions in which the strata have 
been greatly disturbed or altered by intrusions of igneous rock are, 
as a rule, unfavorable to the accumulation of petroleum, because the 
attendant heat and fracturing would as a rule have had disastrous 
effects on volatile substances of this character. An interesting appar- 
ent exception has been noted in Ventura County, Cal., where oil to the 
extent of 5 or 6 barrels a day has been obtained from wells drilled 
in close-textured crystalline schist. Although the schist is underlain 
by granite, it is overlain at a distance of only a few hundred feet 
from the wells by Tertiary rocks which in the same general region 
are petroleum bearing. These relations suggest that the presence of 
the oil in the schist is due to infiltration from the Tertiary sediments 
through fractured zones rather than to origin in the sediments that 
were metamorphosed to form the schist. 

In general, then, oil is found in sedimentary strata of greater or 
less extent and regularity. These strata were originally deposited 
by water in the ocean, in fresh-water lakes, or on great deltas prac- 
tically at sea level. The beds were therefore horizontal, or nearly 

78894°— Bull. 537—13 6 



114 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

horizontal, as first laid down, and where a series of beds was de- 
posited one above another, there being no earth movement during 
the deposition, the several beds were parallel. After the beds of 
sand, mud, and marl were deposited and hardened into the resulting 
sandstone, shale, and limestone, they were in certain areas bent by 
earth movements into folds of various shapes, and it is about these 
folds that the accumulations of oil are found. The attitude in which 
the rocks lie, the shape of the folds, and the presence of faults or 
breaks in the strata constitute the rock structure. 

In any consideration of the factors which control the accumula- 
tion of oil or gas the importance of the part played by the structure 
can hardly be overestimated. The fluid contents of porous beds obey 
the laws of gravitation and capillarity, separating and distributing 
themselves in the main in accordance with their specific gravities. 
If water, petroleum, and gas are, as is usual, present in petroliferous 
beds, the gas would as much as possible disengage itself from the 
fluid and rise to the highest point in the fold, while the water would 
endeavor to displace the petroleum and find a resting place as low 
down as possible. If the bed of rock is inclined and the water is 
under artesian pressure, it will be forced upward along the bed, the 
oil remaining above the water because of the difference in specific 
gravity. If the porous bed is continuous in dip to the outcrop, the 
gas and oil are likely to exhaust themselves at the outcrop in the 
form of seeps. If, however, the progress of the hydrocarbons up 
the dip is stopped by a fold in the bed, or by a fault which seals in- 
stead of opening the stratum, or by saturation of the bed with water, 
an accumulation takes place, the oil and gas remaining between the 
water down the dip and whatever has impeded their progress up the 
dip. This theory, which is known as the anticlinal theory, is in some 
form now accepted by practically all geologists, not as indicating 
absolutely the limitations of the occurrence of oil and gas but as ex- 
pressing the general relations of their occurrence to geologic struc- 
ture, subject to various modifying conditions. Other factors less well 
understood enter into the problem, such as the difference in the capil- 
lary attraction exerted between water and the rock particles and be- 
tween oil and the rock particles and the differences in friction experi- 
enced by the two fluids in passing through the rock. There is much 
to be learned concerning the whole problem, but enough is known to 
make the study of any oil field of economic as well as scientific value. 
If the rock containing the oil does not also carry water there is no 
force to impel the oil into the upfold or anticline. On the contrary, 
gravity tends to pull it downward and it collects in the adjoining 
downfold or syncline. This condition is found in some of the Penn- 
sylvania fields. 



OIL AND GAS LANDS. 115 

Where the migration of oil is due to the pressure of dissolved or 
occluded gas in the absence of water saturation the oil will move in 
all directions until it is stopped by some impervious stratum, where 
accumulation takes place in apparent disregard of structure. 

The simplest structure favorable to the accumulation of oil and gas 
is that of a symmetrical anticline having little or no pitch of the axis 
and moderately dipping flanks. If the requisite condition of porous 
oil-bearing rock adequately sealed by impervious beds is fulfilled and 
the strata are impregnated with water under moderate hydrostatic 
pressure, the hydrocarbons will, under ideal conditions, segregate in 
the axis of the fold and extend down the flanks a distance dependent 
on the quantity present. Farther down the flanks and in the troughs 
of the corresponding synclines water will as a rule be found. It is 
evident that, other things being equal, the extent of the productive 
area controlled by anticlinal structure is greater where the fold is 
broad and the dip of the strata on the flanks relatively low than where 
the fold is narrow and has steep flanks, for in the former case the 
gathering ground for oil and gas is much greater than in the latter. 
From the simple symmetrical anticline there are gradations on the 
one hand into domes pitching away from a central point and on the 
other hand through unsymmetrical folds to an extreme type in which 
one flank is vertical or overturned. In every symmetrical fold the 
boundary between an oil pool lying at the top of a fold and extending 
part way down the sides of the fold and the water saturating the 
rocks farther down is an approximately horizontal line, because as 
long as the fold is regular the water tends to rise to the same level 
all along it. If, however, there are minor irregularities on the 
sides of the fold these have their effect on the distribution of the oil, 
making the margin of the pool irregular or causing small pools to 
collect along the slope. 

Structural features of other types are under certain conditions 
favorable for the accumulation of petroleum and natural gas. Among 
these may be mentioned monoclines, which present conditions favor- 
able for the concentration of oil wherever there is a change in the rate 
of dip or an abrupt change in the strike of the rocks, shallow syn- 
clines where water is absent from the oil-bearing zone, and synclines 
where the oil and water are of nearly the same gravity. Unconformi- 
ties where steeply dipping petroliferous strata are overlain by rela- 
tively impervious horizontal or nearly horizontal beds are also favor- 
able. Faults are usually considered wholly unfavorable to the accu- 
mulation of oil and gas, and for areas where the dislocations are many 
and extensive this view is undoubtedly correct. However, in many 
places faults have quite the contrary effect. For instance, strike 
faults may cause a greater concentration of petroleum toward the 
crest of a fold, and dip faults in a series where there are many oil 



116 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

sands may bring about communication between the different sands 
and have a notable effect on local production. In a series of uni- 
formly dipping beds an oil sand which would normally crop out at 
the surface may be cut off by a strike fault and sealed beneath imper- 
vious beds and thus retain oil which would otherwise migrate to the 
surface and be dispelled. Moreover, faulting may produce fractured 
zones along which the oil or gas can migrate and in which it may 
collect. In a number of localities, as in some of the fields in Mexico, 
where intrusive dikes have pierced oil-bearing strata and conse- 
quently arrested the movement of the oil in certain directions, the 
petroleum has accumulated in apparent disregard of the structural 
features of the sedimentary series. 

In many fields there is little or nothing at the surface to indicate 
the presence of valuable hydrocarbons below, but in many other fields 
there is ample indication of oil at the surface. The oil-bearing 
stratum itself may crop out and the oil ooze from it, giving to the 
rock a dark, greasy appearance and the odor of petroleum, or the oil 
may find its way to the surface from the oil pool below through 
some fracture of the overlying rock. Water charged with various 
salts or with sulphur may rise with the oil, so that a spring is formed, 
the oil floating as a brown scum on the surface of the water or in 
smaller quantity producing the brilliant iridescent sheen character- 
istic of petroleum. Gas may find its way to the surface and appear 
in " gas springs " or under certain conditions may produce the phe- 
nomenon of mud volcanoes. The place at which oil has come to the 
surface and evaporated through long periods of time may be marked 
by a deposit of asphaltum. In certain localities oil-bearing shales 
have been burnt to a pink or deep brick-red color or altered to a 
hard vesicular rock resembling scoriaceous lava. This metamor- 
phism is due to the burning of the hydrocarbons that have impreg- 
nated the rock, and the presence of such rock therefore becomes an 
important surface indication of petroleum. 

The stratigraphic occurrence of hydrocarbon minerals in the United 
States is by no means limited; on the contrary, petroleum in the 
solid, liquid, or gaseous form is found in greater or less quantity 
throughout the range of strata fronl the Cambrian to the younger 
members of the Tertiary series. 

In general the commercially important accumulations of oil through- 
out the central and eastern portions of the United States are found 
in strata belonging to the Paleozoic era. In the great Appalachian 
field, which extends from the southern portion of New York along 
the western slope of the Allegheny Mountains to northern Tennessee, 
the accumulations of oil occur in strata ranging in age from early 
.Devonian to late Carboniferous. In Ohio and Indiana petroleum is 
derived chiefly from rocks of Qrdovician age, and in Indiana mainly 



OIL AND GAS LANDS. 117 

from Carboniferous strata. In the Mid- Continent field, which em- 
braces Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma, the petroleum has accumu- 
lated in rocks of the Pennsylvanian and Permian series. In the Gulf 
field, which includes the Coastal Plain of Louisiana and Texas, the 
petroleum-yielding rocks are Mesozoic and Cenozoic in age, being 
assigned in part to Cretaceous and in part to Tertiary formations. 

In the Rocky Mountain fields the productive formations range in 
age from late Paleozoic to late Mesozoic. The Wyoming fields pre- 
sent perhaps the greatest range of occurrence, yielding oil from strata 
belonging to the Carboniferous, Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous 
systems. The Colorado and New Mexico fields thus far developed 
obtain their oil from strata included entirely within the Cretaceous, 
and the small quantity of oil produced in Utah is derived from rocks 
assigned to the Carboniferous system, although indications of oil are 
found at certain localities in the Jurassic and Cretaceous rocks. 

In the Pacific coast region the important accumulations of oil are 
found chiefly in Cenozoic rocks, although in certain fields an out- 
put of local importance is obtained i from late Mesozoic rocks. In 
Ventura County, Cal., the principal oil-yielding formations are 
classed as Tertiary and range in age from Miocene to Pliocene. 
Along the west side of the San Joaquin Valley the range is greater, 
the oil extending downward into the upper members of the Cretaceous 
system. In the Kern River field, on the east side of the San Joaquin 
Valley in Kern County, oil is obtained from rocks of late Miocene or 
Pliocene age. In Santa Barbara County the oil is derived chiefly 
from early Miocene rocks. In portions of Oregon and Washington 
small amounts of oil and gas have been obtained from rocks assigned 
to the Eocene and Miocene series. 

Despite this wide distribution of fluid hydrocarbons the conclusion 
does not necessarily follow that accumulations of asphaltum, oil, or 
natural gas may be found in any area of sedimentary rocks, for such 
accumulations take place only where all the essential conditions gov- 
erning origin, adequate storage facilities, and favorable structure are 
fulfilled. 

CLASSIFICATION OF OIL AND GAS LANDS. 

The immediate purpose of the classification of oil and gas land 
is to withhold from entry all lands containing valuable deposits of 
fluid hydrocarbons pending the enactment of adequate legislation 
providing for their disposition. The ultimate purpose of the classi- 
fication is to determine the position and extent of the areas whose 
value for their deposits of oil or gas, whether proved by actual 
drilling or indicated by favorable geologic conditions, is greater than 
their value for agriculture or other purposes and to provide for a 
disposition of the deposits in accordance with this greater value. 



118 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

Classifications are made by the oil section of the land-classification 
board. This section consists of three geologists, in addition to the 
chief of the board. Each classification is based on data submitted 
by a field geologist, who is called into consultation at the meeting 
at which his data are considered. Other geologists having special 
knowledge of the area under consideration may also be consulted. 
The factors observed by the field geologist are reviewed in detail, and 
his inferences and conclusions are subjected to the severest tests of 
experience and theory. Each factor which can be conceived as having 
a bearing on the accumulation and present distribution of oil within 
the area under discussion is carefully considered in all its relations 
before an attempt at classification is made. 

The record data submitted by the field geologists consist primarily 
of a map or maps showing the facts observed in the field. On these 
maps surface contours and drainage are indicated and the details of 
the areal geology of the region are clearly shown. The position of all 
petroleum seepages and indications is recorded, as well as the location, 
by appropriate legend showing the results obtained, of each well 
drilled within the area examined. All determinations of dip and 
strike are shown, also the axial lines of all anticlines and synclines, 
with the direction and amount of pitch of each fold. The location of 
all land corners found is likewise noted, in order that the classifica- 
tion may conform to the established system of land surveys. Struc- 
ture sections are necessary to explain complicated structural condi- 
tions and indicate the relative thicknesses of the formations and 
the position of the productive zones. Underground structure con- 
tours must be drawn to show the relative position of the principal 
oil-yielding zones above or below sea level, in order that the approxi- 
mate depth of the oil zone beneath any desired point in the field may 
be readily determined when the elevation of the point above sea level 
is known. In a field where considerable development work has been 
done the preparation of the data should include the plotting of all 
available well records and the correlation, if possible, of the several 
oil-yielding zones. 

The principal factors considered- by the board in determining the 
classification of an area are the stratigraphy, the structure, the 
continuity and character of the oil sands, the quality of the oil, and 
the presence or absence of water. In many fields the productive 
sands are confined to a single geologic unit, the formations above and 
below being uniformly barren. It is therefore necessary to know not 
only the number and relation of the productive zones in a particular 
succession of strata but also the geologic system or series and, if 
possible, the formation or group to which these zones belong. The 
assignment of productive zones to a definite formation or group out- 
side of which the strata are known to be barren constitutes an im- 



OIL AND GAS LANDS. 119 

portant step in the classification, the productive portions of the field 
being thus limited to the areas underlain by the petroliferous units 
and the areas not so underlain being at once disregarded as having no 
prospective value for oil. 

As it is the structure of the petroliferous strata which largely de- 
termines the place of accumulation of oil and gas, it is apparent that 
a detailed knowledge of the structural conditions is absolutely essen- 
tial to classification. In the classification of areas whose structure 
is anticlinal all lands are classified as oil bearing which lie along the 
axes of the anticlines or which are so located on the flanks that the 
oil sand underlies them within an arbitrarily chosen limit of depth. 
This limit may be the depth below which it is estimated that drilling 
can not be profitably carried because of mechanical difficulties, or it 
may represent the distance from the axis beyond which it is consid- 
ered improbable that oil or gas in valuable quantities have accumu- 
lated. In monoclines similar considerations limit the distance down 
the dip to which classifications as oil land are carried. In the rarer 
synclinal accumulations the width of the zone classified as oil bear- 
ing depends mainly on what is known regarding the quantity of oil 
present. 

The thickness and porosity of the reservoir rock are important fac- 
tors to be considered with regard to the production and life of the 
wells, but their bearing on classification is subordinate, for classification 
is concerned with the boundaries of productive areas rather than with 
estimates of probable production. The continuity of the oil-bearing 
zone is, however, an important factor in classification, though, un- 
fortunately, it is one whose exact value can rarely be determined, 
because of the difficulty of obtaining adequate data on the subject. 
In many areas of Tertiary rocks, where lateral variations in litho- 
logic character within short distances are to be considered the rule 
and not the exception, changes in the thickness and extent of the oil- 
bearing zones must be expected, and although field examination may 
show the general trend of the variations in a certain region, local 
variations can seldom be predicted in advance of drilling. A factor 
of uncertainty is thus introduced, which may now and then result in 
an erroneous conclusion and give rise not only to adverse criticism 
of a particular classification but even to sweeping and unjust con- 
demnation of the entire method of procedure. 

The quality of the oil obtained in a given field is considered in clas- 
sification mainly with regard to its bearing on distribution. In 
general the greater the specific gravity of the oil the slower will be 
its migration, the less complete its separation from the associated 
water, and the lower down on the flanks of the folds its resting place ; 
and, conversely, the less the specific gravity the more rapid the rate 
of migration, the more complete the segregation, and the higher in 



120 CLASSIFICATION" OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

the folds the ultimate place of accumulation. Experience has shown 
that only under exceptional conditions may considerable accumula- 
tions of light paraffin-base oils be expected in monoclines, although 
in many places the monoclinal structure lends itself to the accumu- 
lation of heavy asphaltum-base oils. 

The presence or absence of water in the formations of an oil-bear- 
ing region is a factor in the classification only as it affects the accu- 
mulation of the hydrocarbons, determining very largely their relation 
to the structure, as already explained. Whether or not it is present 
in the petroliferous strata must be known before a satisfactory classi- 
fication can be made. 

The maximum depth at which accumulations of oil or gas will 
warrant the classification of an area as oil land is a matter that de- 
mands careful consideration for each field. The factors that deter- 
mine this depth limit are primarily the richness and the continuity 
of the oil-bearing zones, secondary consideration being given to the 
quality of the oil, present market conditions, and transportation 
facilities. Thus in certain areas where production is large and the 
oil-yielding zones are believed to continue productive to considerable 
depth, lands beneath which the productive zone lies at a computed 
depth of 5,500 feet have been classified as oil lands. On the other 
hand, in areas where the geologic conditions preclude a large accumu- 
lation of oil and indicate a doubtful continuity of the oil-bearing 
zones, depth limits as low as 3,000 feet have been fixed. That quality, 
market, and transportation facilities should receive only incidental 
consideration becomes evident when it is realized that deposits of 
low-grade oils that can not now be commercially exploited may, in the 
not distant future, as a result of improvements in methods of drilling 
and refining, become important contributors to the Nation's fuel 
supply; that the use of oil is practically just beginning, and it ap- 
pears certain to build for itself a market far greater than it at 
present commands; and that with the advance of settlement or the 
beginning of production transportation facilities will be provided for 
fields now remote and essentially undeveloped. To many persons a 
maximum depth limit of 5,500 feet appears excessive, but to one 
who has acquainted himself with the rapid progress in well-drilling 
methods and machinery during the last decade this limit is 'far from 
unreasonable. In many of the California fields wells drilled to 
depths of 3,500 or 4,000 feet are by no means uncommon, and in for- 
eign countries and at a few localities in the United States wells 
more than 5,000 feet deep have been drilled. In the Kern Eiver oil 
field, California, one well has a depth of 5,135 feet; in the Midway 
field of the same State a well whose depth is slightly more than 
5,000 feet is reported ; and in the vicinity of Los Angeles a well was 



OIL AND GAS LANDS. 121 

recently completed at a depth of approximately 5,200 feet. In west- 
ern Pennsylvania one well more than 5,500 feet in depth has been 
drilled, and another, not yet completed, has been sunk to a depth of 
more than 6,000 feet. The effect of a few more years of improve- 
ment in drilling methods on the development of deep -lying oil de- 
posits can be inferred only from the history of the past, but in land 
classification, which seeks in a measure to foresee and provide for 
future conditions, this progress can not be ignored. 

When a conclusion has been reached by the board as to the portions 
of the field presenting conditions favorable for oil and gas accumu- 
lation, when a depth limit of profitable extraction has been fixed, 
and when the boundaries of the favorable and unfavorable areas 
have been .determined and translated into terms of legal subdivisions 
of the land surveys, withdrawal or restoration orders are prepared 
and forwarded by the Director through the Secretary of the Interior 
to the President for final action. Two general types of withdrawals 
are made — first, preliminary withdrawals, based on more or less 
meager information, and, second, withdrawals made after field ex- 
amination. 

The usual type of oil-land withdrawal order, based on field ex- 
amination, closely resembles that used in the withdrawal from pub- 
lic entry of lands valuable for their phosphate content. An example 
of an order of withdrawal of phosphate lands is given on page 133. 
Two special petroleum reserves have been created in the State of 
California in order to retain in Government control bodies of oil- 
bearing lands containing what are believed to be sufficently large re- 
serves of fuel oil to provide for the future needs of the United States 
Navy. An example of an order creating a naval petroleum reserve 
is appended 

Department of the Interior, 

United States Geological Survey, 

Washington, August 8, 1912. 
The honorable the Secretary of the Interior. 

Sir: In accordance with your instructions to recommend for inclusion in a 
special reserve a compact body of public lands containing an ample supply of 
fuel oil for the use of the United States Navy, I have prepared and recommend 
for submission to the President the following order of withdrawal, involving 
approximately 38,068 acres in the Elk Hills, Kern County, Cal. 
Very respectfully, 

Geo. Otis Smith, 

Director. 

August 10, 1912. 
Respectfully referred to the President with favorable recommendation. 

Walter L. Fisher, 

Secretary. 



122 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

Order of Withdrawal. 

Naval petroleum reserve No. 1. 

It is hereby ordered that all lands included in the following list and hereto- 
fore forming a part of petroleum reserve No. 2, California No. 1, withdrawn on 
July 2, 1910, from settlement, location, sale, or entry, and reserved for classi- 
fication and in aid of legislation under the authority of the act of Congress 
entitled "An act to authorize the President of the United States to make 
withdrawals of public lands in certain cases" (36 Stat, 847), shall hereafter, 
subject to valid existing rights, constitute naval petroleum reserve No. 1, and 
shall be held for the exclusive use or benefit of the United States Navy until 
this order is revoked by the President or by act of Congress. To this end and 
for this public purpose the order of July 2, 1910, is modified and the withdrawal 
of that date is continued and extended in so far as it affects these lands. 

Mount Diablo meridian. 

T. 30 S., R. 22 E., sec. 24, all. 
[Here follows the remainder of land description.] 

Wm. H. Taft, 

September 2, 1912. President. 

The preliminary withdrawals are made as a first step in classi- 
fication and are based on recommendations of Survey geologists or 
of field agents of the General Land Office. A few such withdrawals 
have been based on petitions filed by residents of the community in 
which the occurrence of oil is suspected. The purpose of the with- 
drawals is primarily to withhold the lands from disposition pend- 
ing their examination and classification. Because of the lack of 
definite geologic data most of the preliminary withdrawals of neces- 
sity embrace areas larger than those ultimately found to be valuable. 

As soon as practicable after preliminary withdrawal the lands are 
examined geologically, and from the data* obtained in this examina- 
tion, presented and considered as already described, decisions as to 
the probable productive and nonproductive portions of the area are 
made. The areas classified as nonoil land are promptly restored and 
become subject to entry and disposition as if no withdrawal had been 
made. 

The following order illustrates the form in which such restorations 

are made : 

Department of the Interior, 

United States Geological Survey, 

Washington, September 9, 1912. 
The honorable the Secretary of the Interior. 

Sir: Field investigation by the Geological Survey indicates that the lands 
listed below do not contain deposits of oil or gas. The following order of 
restoration, which involves 133,626 acres, is therefore recommended for submis- 
sion to the President for appropriate action. A small part of these lands is 



PHOSPHATE LANDS. 123 

within national forests, but none are included in public water reserves, coal, 
phosphate, or power-site withdrawals. 

Very respectfully, Geo. H. Ashley, 

Acting Director. 

September 21, 1912. 
Respectfully referred to the President, with favorable recommendation. 

Samuel Adams, 
Acting Secretary. 

Order of Restoration. 
Petroleum restoration No. 12 — California No. 7. 

So much of the orders of withdrawal made heretofore for classification 
and in aid of legislation affecting the use and disposition of petroleum lands, 
namely, reserves No. 2, No. 18, and No. 20, as affects the lands hereinafter de- 
scribed is hereby revoked, for the reason that the Director of the Geological 
Survey reports that the lands are not valuable for the purpose for which 
withdrawn. 

And it is further ordered that all such lands not otherwise reserved or with- 
drawn are hereby restored to the public domain and shall become subject to 
disposition under the laws applicable thereto upon such date and after such 
notice as may be determined upon by the Secretary of the Interior. 

Mount Diablo meridian. 

T. 16 S., R. 11 E., sec. 21, N. i of SW. h SE. I of SW. \, S. \ of SE. \. 
[Here follows the remainder of the land description.] 

Wm. H. Taft, 
September 23, 1912. President. 

The areas classified as oil land remain withdrawn pending the 
enactment by Congress of appropriate legislation for the disposition 
of oil and gas deposits. 

PHOSPHATE LANDS. 
USE OF PHOSPHATE. 

Phosphorus is one of the mineral elements that are essential to 
plant growth and therefore necessary to make soils productive, and 
it is one of the three most likely to become exhausted by continued 
removal in crops taken from the soil. Work at the agricultural 
experiment stations in Illinois, Ohio, and Wisconsin has shown that 
lands under cultivation in these States during the last half century 
have been depleted of one-third of their original content of phos- 
phoric acid. This depletion per acre annually is equivalent to the 



124 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

phosphoric acid contained in 60 pounds of high-grade phosphate 
rock. At this rate 12,000,000 tons of high-grade phosphate rock, ap- 
proximately four times the production in 1911, or one-third the total 
marketed production in the United States from 1867 to 1911, would 
be required each year simply to offset the depletion of the 400,000,000 
acres of cultivated land in the United States, the question of increas- 
ing the present agricultural yield not being considered. 

Phosphate or rock phosphate is a mineral substance made up of 
lime and phosphoric acid and is the principal source of the phosphate 
of commerce. Its value is becoming more apparent and more clearly 
recognized in the United States, not only through the decreasing 
yield per acre of cultivated lands but also through the discovery of 
the fact that some virgin lands are deficient in this essential to plant 
growth. The marketed production of phosphate rock in the United 
States increased from 448,567 long tons in 1888 to 11,900,693 long 
tons in 1911. The rock phosphate is used as raw rock flour (or 
" floats ") or in the form of a superphosphate, which is made by 
treating the rock with sulphuric acid. 

LANDS CONTAINING PHOSPHATE. 

The commercially available phosphate deposits of the public do- 
main are those in Florida and those of the western fields, which, so 
far as investigated at present, are confined to the States of Idaho, 
Montana, Wyoming, and Utah. 

Deposits of phosphate in the Rocky Mountain States were first 
discovered in northeastern Utah and southeastern Idaho, in the 
vicinity of the Idaho-Utah-Wyoming line: From this locality 
the deposits have been traced south, east, and west halfway across 
the States of Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming and northward to the vicin- 
ity of Helena, in west-central Montana, so that the phosphate beds 
now known cover an area extending about 220 miles from east 
to west and 420 miles from north to south. Of course only a small 
part of this territory is underlain by deposits that are commercially 
valuable. 

Deposits of phosphate rock exist also in Tennessee, South Carolina, 
and Arkansas, but these deposits are on lands that have passed into 
private ownership. The production of Tennessee is increasing, that 
of Florida appears to have about reached its maximum, the South 
Carolina output is diminishing, and the Arkansas deposits are of 
low grade. For these reasons the largest future production must 
come from the western fields, where the deposits are chiefly on the 
public lands, although Florida will remain an important factor in 
production for many years *o come. 



PHOSPHATE LANDS. 125 

PHOSPHATE RESERVES. 

In order to prevent the alienation of the phosphate deposits on 
the public lands until Congress shall provide a law for their disposi- 
tion that will encourage development under conditions favorable to 
the public interests, the known phosphate lands remaining in Gov- 
ernment ownership have been temporarily withdrawn from entry. 
The reserves thus created embrace lands in the phosphate belt of 
Florida and in Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana. 

FLORIDA RESERVES. 

The deposits in the Florida reserves include two important kinds of 
phosphate — the hard rock and the land pebble ; the latter doubtless 
was derived from the former. Deposits of both these types are found 
near the surface and are mined after removal of the soil cover or over- 
burden. The pebble deposits are fairly regular in thickness, but the 
hard rock occurs in irregular pockets in the limestone of which it is 
supposed to be a residual product. The pebble deposits cover a large 
area, mainly in southwest-central Florida; the hard-rock deposits 
are distributed through the northwestern part of the State. 

The hard-rock phosphate is sold on a guaranty of 77 per cent of 
tricalcium phosphate (the bone phosphate of commerce) and the 
pebble phosphate on guaranties of 60 to 75 per cent. 

The prospecting or geologic mapping of these practically flat de- 
posits in a region of slight relief is in most places complicated by 
the presence of overburden, so that any investigation of undeveloped 
portions is conducted principally by systematic drilling. 

WESTERN RESERVES. 

The phosphate deposits in the western reserves consist of rock 
phosphate occurring in beds interstratified with other rocks, in 
much the same way as coal occurs. The beds over 4 feet thick con- 
taining 70 per cent of tricalcium phosphate are from one to three in 
number in different places. These are interbedded with yellowish 
to brown phosphatic sandstone and shale and here and there with 
thin beds of dark limestone. The shale contains from 25 to 60 
per cent of tricalcium phosphate and is doubtless of future economic 
importance. The phosphatic series ranges from less than 6 feet 
to about 180 feet in thickness and usually lies between a light- 
colored sandy limestone of variable thickness and a white, brown, 
yellow, or dull-black cherty limestone averaging 225 feet in thick- 
ness. The chert overlies the phosphatic beds where the strata are 
in normal order, but in places the beds have been turned completely 



126 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

over in the intense folding that has occurred. The phosphate 
deposits therefore not only lie flat but stand at various inclinations, 
and they lie at great depth except where the long-continued action 
of the elements has worn away parts of the rock folds. These folds 
are of two principal types — upfolds, or anticlines, and downfolds, 
or synclines. In some places the folding has been moderate in 
amount and the folds are long, regular wrinkles. In other places 
the folding was so intense and the wrinkles were so sharp and 
extensive that the beds are broken or " faulted " and come together 
in irregular order. Faults may and in many places do sharply 
separate phosphate from nonphosphate land, and where such faults 
are concealed by later deposits, such as gravels, they may lead to an 
apparently unwarranted difference in the classification of adjoin- 
ing and seemingly similar tracts. Two 40-acre tracts in a section 
may in reality be underlain by phosphate and the remaining tracts 
may be barren, although the surface character of all may be exactly 
similar, so that it is necessary that the field examinations, the nature 
of which is more fully explained elsewhere, should involve more than 
a study of specific tracts. 

The phosphatic series is composed of rocks which wear away 
easily under the action of the elements, and its outcrop is therefore 
inconspicuous; but the rocks immediately above and below it are 
resistant and in many places stand out in ledges that are easily 
traced. The field surveys on which the classification of the lands 
is based are made with sufficient detail and accuracy to determine 
the distribution of phosphatic beds relative to 40-acre tracts or other 
legal subdivisions, the thickness and character of cover, and the 
quality and thickness of rock phosphate. The determination of the 
factors last named has in places involved the actual prospecting of 
the deposits by deep trenches, the longest of which was over 400 feet 
long. Certain other preliminary surveys of a reconnaissance nature 
have been made in order to acquire data for withdrawals and pre- 
liminary modifications of the reserve boundaries. 

The estimated quantity of high-grade rock ( containing TO per cent 
or more of tricalcium phosphate) included in the area surveyed in de- 
tail to date is more than 3,000,000,000 long tons, yet it is possible that 
such an estimate, based solely on information collected along the 
outcrop of the beds, may be excessive. Below the surface the brown 
phosphate of Tennessee rapidly becomes lean and grades into the 
phosphatic limestone from which the phosphate is supposed to have 
been concentrated by weathering. The phosphate deposits of the 
western reserves may ultimately be found to show a similar change, 
although they do not exhibit clear evidence of such concentration 



PHOSPHATE LANDS. 127 

but in the main have the characteristics of original bedded deposits, 
probably in part of purely chemical and in part of organic origin. 
They have therefore been inferred to have practically the same rich- 
ness underground that they show at the outcrop. However, in view 
of the unproved value of the deeper portions of the phosphate beds it 
is advisable that they be sampled by deep prospecting before any 
plan for the final disposal of the lands is adopted. If such pros- 
pecting shows that the greater part of the rock included in the esti- 
mates is relatively of low grade it will be self-evident that the ex- 
haustion of the phosphate resources is not so distant as it now 
appears and that the value of the outcropping portions that are now 
known to include high-grade phosphate rock is much greater than is 
at present suspected. 

SUMMARY OF PHOSPHATE SITUATION. 

The question of the future adequacy of our phosphate resources 
for our own needs had been mentioned by several authorities prior 
to the conference of the governors in 1908, in which the discussion 
of this and kindred topics drew public attention to the situation. 
At this conference the possibility that foreign investors might acquire 
the better-known and supposedly richer portions of our deposits 
was suggested, the wisdom of permitting the exportation of so essen- 
tial a quasi-public commodity was questioned, and the desirability 
of an early examination of the available supplies was emphasized. 
In part as a result of these indications of public interest, in part 
as a continuation of the policy already adopted in reference to 
coal lands, and in part because of the legal dilemma existing in the 
western fields through the inadequacy of the laws governing the 
disposal of mineral land the Secretary of the Interior, on December 
10, 1908, withdrew from entry about 7,000 square miles of public land 
in Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming, pending an examination of their 
phosphate resources. In the following summer the United States 
Geological Survey began the examination of these lands and the 
investigation has been continued up to the present time, some 4,000 
square miles having been examined in a preliminary way and about 
2,500 square miles surveyed in detail. 

The first withdrawal was based partly on information collected by 
the Hay den Survey in 1877 and partly on later detailed and recon- 
naissance examinations made by the United States Geological Sur- 
vey. Field work done subsequent to this withdrawal revealed the 
regularity and the character of the phosphate deposits, so that it has 
been possible not only to revise the estimates of the reserves in the 
area actually examined since the first withdrawal but also to make 
a closer interpretation of the information gathered by the earlier 



128 



CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 



surveys. These facts and relations are brought out in the following 
table : 

Approximate area of phosphate lands, in square miles. 



Year. 


Recon- 
naissance 
surveys. 


Detail 
surveys. 


Total. 


With- 
drawn. 


Restored. 


1908 








7,000 

600 

65 

55 

1,890 


75 


1909 


1,000 

1,400 

1,200 

400 


800 
500 
800 
400 


1,800 

1,900 

2,000 

800 


3,600 
90 


1910 


1911 


237 


1912 


495 








4,000 


2,500 


6,500 


9,610 


4,497 



CLASSIFICATION OF PHOSPHATE LANDS. 



FACTORS INVOLVED. 



As the phosphate deposits on the public domain exist as stratiform 
sedimentary beds or as residual deposits of the placer type, they are, 
as a rule, readily found and their extent may be determined by the 
ordinary methods of areal geologic mapping. In examining deposits 
of this type the geologic problems involved are chiefly structural. The 
purely economic considerations of accessibility, means of transpor- 
tation, and nearness to market are highly important in the problem 
of establishing a commercial mine but are not involved in the classi- 
fication of the land as phosphate or nonphosphate land. 

The classification of a given tract as phosphate land is governed 
by the facts observed in the course of a field examination. A 
knowledge of the general geology of the region tells the examiner 
in what geologic environment the deposits may be expected, and a 
knowledge of the local succession of the beds tells him at what hori- 
zons and at what depths such deposits may be found in the tract 
examined. Before making a mineral or nonmineral classification of 
withdrawn phosphate lands it is essential to know exactly the distri- 
bution of the valuable deposits and to ascertain their relation to 
the legal subdivisions, so that the lands may be correctly described 
and classified. In making a classification it is also necessary to know 
the thickness and the number of the phosphate beds ; the proportion 
of phosphoric acid (P 2 5 ), or its equivalent expressed as tricalcium 
phosphate, that they contain; and the depths below the surface at 
which they occur. 

The facts determined and recorded in the course of a field examina- 
tion are shown on the township maps submitted by the field geologists 
to the land-classification board. If any of the data collected can not 
be represented on the maps they are supplied in the form of descrip- 
tive notes. One of the most essential factors to consider in the classi- 



PHOSPHATE LANDS. 129 

fieation of any tract is the relation of the bed and its outcrop to that 
tract. If the rocks are in normal position — that is, if they have not 
been overturned or greatly disturbed by faulting — all the area under- 
lain by rocks stratigraphically below the outcropping bed and there- 
fore not underlain by the phosphate bed — may at once be classified as 
nonphosphate. In order to determine what lands are underlain by 
phosphate deposits it is necessary to work out from the recorded dips 
and strikes the structure of the field and to ascertain in what 
position and at what depth the phosphate beds lie. When these fac- 
tors have been duly considered and the position of the phosphatic 
layer has been determined, it is necessary to know the regularity of 
the phosphate content of the bed, its variation in thickness, and the 
uniformity of its chemical composition from point to point in order to 
determine whether or not the tract contains a sufficient amount of 
phosphate to justify its classification as phosphate land. 

Frequently in considering these factors it is desirable to make use 
of data of a confidential character which may have been procured in 
the courstJTTf the field examination. Such data, although used in de- 
termining the classification of the land, never appear on the map that 
is filed, but for all confidential sections, drill records, or other data 
only the location is indicated on the map and the material itself is 
kept separate from the general description and is not open to public 
inspection. 

PRINCIPLES CONTROLLING THE CLASSIFICATION OF PHOSPHATE LAND. 

Lands that have been included within phosphate reserves because 
preliminary examinations indicated that parts of them at least 
contain valuable deposits of phosphate whose exact distribution 
could not at that time be ascertained are further examined as soon as 
practicable and all lands barren of phosphate are recommended for 
restoration. In order to determine what lands should be so recom- 
mended and what lands should be retained in the phosphate reserve 
pending legislation providing for the disposition of phosphate 
deposits, it is necessary to determine what is and what is not to be 
regarded as phosphate land. It is very evident that lands which con- 
tain phosphate beds only an inch or two in thickness or with a con- 
tent of tricalcium phosphate that is only 2 or 3 per cent of the entire 
mass or lands beneath which the phosphate beds lie at depths so great 
that they can not be commercially mined should be considered non- 
phosphate land. 

REGULATIONS FOR THE CLASSIFICATION OF PHOSPHATE LANDS. 

In order that the restorations and withdrawals may conform as 
nearly as possible to the factors that are involved in determining 
78894°— Bull. 537—13 9 



130 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

whether a given bed of phosphate possesses any actual or prospective 
value as a source of commercial phosphate, the following regulations 
were framed and have been applied in the classification of phosphate 
lands. 

The principles incorporated in these regulations are to be used 
primarily for guidance in determining what lands will be recom- 
mended for reservation and what lands will be restored or excluded 
from future reserves. These principles, however, are based on a 
careful consideration of the factors which affect phosphate values 
and which may be involved when provision has been made for the 
disposition of the phosphate lands or of the deposits themselves. 
Furthermore, due regard has been given to such future developments 
as can be anticipated from present conditions. 

Phosphate deposits shall be classified according to their thickness, their depth 
below the surface, and their calculated tricalcium phosphate determined from 
phosphoric acid content. 

Lands underlain by beds of phosphate less than 1 foot in thickness or con- 
taining less than 30 per cent tricalcium phosphate or lying at a d£pth greater 
than 5,000 feet below the surface shall be considered nonphosphate lands, except 
as hereinafter provided. 

A. Lands underlain by beds of phosphate 6 feet or more in thickness and 
containing 70 per cent or more of calculated tricalcium phosphate shall be 
considered phosphate lands if the beds do not lie more than 5,000 feet below 
the surface. The depth limit for beds containing TO per cent of calculated 
tricalcium phosphate shall vary from to 5,000 feet in direct ratio to the 
variation of thickness of bed from 1 foot to 6 feet. For beds containing less 
than 70 per cent tricalcium phosphate the depth limit shall vary from zero 
to the depth of a 70 per cent bed of any given thickness in direct ratio to the 
variation in tricalcium phosphate content from 30 to 70 per cent. 

B. Lands underlain at depths greater than the depth limit given in "A" 
by horizontal beds of phosphate 6 feet or more in thickness and containing 
70 per cent or more of calculated tricalcium phosphate shall be considered 
phosphate lands to a distance of 10 miles from the outcrop or point of accessi- 
bility from which they can be reached by a horizontal tunnel, which distance 
shall be decreased to in direct ratio as the thickness decreases to 1 foot. 
For beds containing less than 70 per cent calculated tricalcium phosphate 
the maximum distance for any given thickness of phosphate bed shall be 
decreased to zero in direct ratio as the percentage of tricalcium phosphate 
decreases from 70 to 30 per cent. If the phosphate beds dip toward the 
outcrop or lie above the point of accessibility, they shall be included under 
this paragraph. 

C. The maximum horizontal distance for any given thickness of phosphate 
bed shall be decreased from that given in " B " to one-fourth that distance in 
direct ratio as the depth below the outcrop or point of accessibility increases 
from zero to the limiting value given in "A." This limiting horizontal dis- 
tance applies both to horizontal and to dipping beds, but in no case shall 
land be classified as phosphate land where the bed lies at a depth below the 
point of accessibility greater than that given in "A" or where the amount 
of barren tunnel and shaft work required to reach the phosphate bed would 



PHOSPHATE LANDS. 



131 



be more than three-fourths of the total tunnel and shaft work required to 
mine the bed, 1 foot of lift being considered equivalent to 7.92 feet of haul. 

D. Where the phosphate bed occurs at or near the surface so that the 
deposits may be readily mined by open-cut or stripping methods, the minimum 
thickness of a phosphate bed containing 70 per cent or more of tricalcium 
phosphate shall be 3 inches. For beds containing less than 70 per cent 
tricalcium phosphate the minimum thickness shall increase to 1 foot as the 
percentage of tricalcium phosphate decreases from 70 to 30 per cent. 



DEPTH IN FEET 




Example: 4-foot phosphate bed 

60 per cent tricalcium phosphate 
Maximum depth limit =2,250 feet 



Figure 7. — Diagram showing depth to which phosphate deposits are classified under 
article A of the regulations. 

PROGRESS IN CLASSIFICATION. 

Classifications of the phosphate lands that have been examined 
are made according to articles A and D of the regulations. Recent 
field work in the closely folded phosphate region in the Western 
States and in the comparatively shallow deposits of Florida has 
shown that the attitude of the beds in these localities is such that it 
is not necessary to make use of articles B and C in classifying the 
lands. The classifications that are made according to the regula- 



132 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

tions outlined in article D are comparatively simple, but those 
made under article A are much more complex and require consider- 
able computation. In order to reduce to a minimum the computa- 
tions involved in determining the maximum depth a given phos- 
phate bed of known thickness and content of tricalcium phosphate 
may attain for the land to be classified as phosphate land, the ac- 
companying diagram (fig. 7) has been constructed, by which each 
individual problem falling under article A can be readily solved. 

All beds 6 feet or more in thickness are computed as 6-foot beds, 
and all beds having a content of tricalcium phosphate greater than 
70 per cent are computed as 70 per cent beds. In order to determine 
from the diagram to what depth any phosphate bed whose thickness 
and content of tricalcium phosphate are known should be considered 
workable, the vertical line in the diagram that represents the thick- 
ness of the bed is selected and followed to its intersection with the 
diagonal line representing the percentage of tricalcium phosphate the 
bed contains. From this point of intersection the actual or constructed 
diagonal line is followed to the top of the diagram, where the maxi- 
mum depth limit is given. Every 40-acre tract between the outcrop 
of the phosphate bed and the line where the bed reaches this depth 
limit should be classified as phosphate land. 

Where the phosphate rock occurs in several thin beds or groups of 
beds sufficiently close together to be mined as a unit but with dif- 
ferent percentages of phosphoric acid, all the material that can be 
mined as one bed should be taken, or in case part of it consists of 
barren rock that portion of the group that can be mined as a unit 
and will give the greatest amount of phosphate rock should be con- 
sidered. Where more than one bed exists that can be mined sepa- 
rately without destroying the value of the other beds the land should 
be classified on the basis of each bed separately, all the lands being 
classified as phosphate land that can be so classified with reference to 
any one of the beds. This method of calculation gives the maximum 
amount of phosphate that can be obtained from the bed or group of 
beds and is the method used in determining what lands should be 
classified as phosphate land. 

As a result of action of this type, based on field examinations made 
by the geologists of the geologic branch, withdrawals and restora- 
tions have been recommended from time to time. 

Examples of withdrawal and restoration orders are given below : 

Department of the Interior, 

United States Geological Survey, 

Washington, January 25, 1913. 
The honorable the Secretary of the Interior. 

Sir : Investigations by the Geological Survey in the Florida phosphate region 
indicate that the lands listed below lie within the phosphate area and prob- 



PHOSPHATE LANDS. 133 

ably contain valuable deposits of phosphate. These lands were reported by 
the General Land Office in a letter, dated January 15, 1913, as vacant Govern- 
ment lands, or as unapproved State or railroad selections. Their withdrawal 
is in accordance with the procedure outlined and advocated in my letter of 
August 16, 1912. I therefore recommend the submission to the President of 
the following order of withdrawal, involving 75,851 acres. 
Very respectfully, 

Geo. Otis Smith, 

Director. 

February 3, 1913. 
Respectfully referred to the President with favorable recommendation. 

Walter L. Fisher, 

Secretary. 
Order of Withdrawal. 

Phosphate reserve No. 16 — Florida No. 5. 

Under and pursuant to the provisions of the act of Congress approved June 
25, 1910 (36 Stat., 847), entitled "An act to authorize the President of the 
United States to make withdrawals of public lands in certain cases," as 
amended by act of Congress approved August 24, 1912 (Public No. 316), it is 
hereby ordered that the following described lands be, and the same are hereby, 
withdrawn from settlement, location, sale, or entry and reserved for public use. 

Tallahassee meridian. 

T. 2 N., R. 1 E., sec. 6, E. I of SW. \. 
[Here follows the remainder of the land description.] 

Wm. H. Taft, 
February 3, 1913. President. 



Department of the Interior, 

United States Geological Survey, 

Washington, August 8, 1912. 
The honorable the Secretary of the Interior. 

Sir: Field investigation by the Geological Survey indicates that the lands 
listed below do not contain deposits of phosphate. The following order of 
restoration, which involves 67,557 acres, is therefore recommended for sub- 
mission to the President for appropriate action. Part of these lands are within 
coal withdrawals, but none are included in national forests, power-site or 
petroleum reserves. 

Very respectfully, Geo. Otis Smith, 

Director. 

August 17, 1912. 
Respectfully referred to the President with favorable recommendation. 

Walter L. Fisher, 

Secretary. 



134 



CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 
Order of Restoration. 



Phosphate restoration No. 6 — Wyoming No. 2. 

So much of the order of withdrawal made heretofore for classification and 
in aid of legislation affecting the use and disposition of phosphate lands, namely, 
reserve No. 4, as affects the lands hereinafter described is hereby revoked, for 
the reason that the Director of the Geological Survey reports that the lands are 
not valuable for the purpose for which withdrawn. 

And it is further ordered that all such lands not otherwise reserved or 
withdrawn are hereby restored to the public domain and shall become subject 
to disposition under the laws applicable thereto upon such date and after such 
notice as may be determined upon by the Secretary of the Interior. 

Sixth principal meridian. 

T. 23 N., It. 119 W., sees. 5 to 7, inclusive ; 
sec. 18, all; 
sec. 19, all; 
sec. 30, all; 
sec. 31, all. 
[Here follows the remainder of the land description.] 



August 17, 1912. 



Wm. H. Taft, 

President. 



As a result of these orders, 3,291,527 acres of lands were included 
in phosphate reserves on January 1, 1913. The areas involved in 
these recommendations are indicated in the following table : 

Phosphate land ivitlidrawn, restored, and outstanding on January 1, 1913. 



State. 


Total with- 
drawals. 


Restora- 
tions. 


Outstand- 
ing with- 
drawals. 


Florida 


Acres. 

45,979 

2,215,834 

274,861 

581,039 

3,060,098 


Acres. 

2,199 
1,157,778 


Acres. 
43,780 

1,058,056 
274,861 
107,745 

1,807,085 


Idaho 




Utah 


473,294 
1,253,013 


Wyoming 








6,177,811 


2,886,284 


3,291,527 



LANDS BEARING POTASH AND RELATED SALINES. 
GEOLOGIC OCCURRENCE OF THE DEPOSITS. 

No potash deposits of proved commercial value are yet known in 
the United States. Indeed, large deposits of potash salts are rare 
anywhere. Much the greater part of the world's supply is obtained 
from deposits in central Germany, first known from their discovery 
near Stassfurt. The only other noteworthy deposit in the world is 
said to be that at Kalusz, Galicia, in northern Austria. Deposits of 
the Stassfurt type may eventually be found in the United States, but 



LANDS BEARING POTASH AND RELATED SALINES. 135 

the chances are perhaps greater that potassium-rich saline deposits in 
this country will vary widely from the German type in the character 
of the salts and in their mutual associations. It appears, therefore, 
that a discussion of the geologic occurrence of potash based on the 
Stassfurt type alone would be inadequate if intended to apply to 
possible deposits in the United States. 

Potash in its soluble or most useful forms is almost universally 
associated with other soluble salts. Therefore it is to the natural 
saline residues and natural or artificial brines and bitterns that atten- 
tion is directed in an exploration for soluble potash. 

Great deposits of salines, especially those composed of sodium 
chloride or common salt, occur in many parts of the United States, 
but so far as known none of the important deposits now worked for 
salt contain an important percentage of potash salts. Saline beds 
occur at the surface in the arid regions of the West more abundantly 
than elsewhere. These occurrences include at least two types of de- 
posits — the bedded salines included in stratified formations, which 
have commonly been tilted and otherwise displaced since their depo- 
sition, and the more recent saline deposits, which are to be found in 
the undrained play as and salt marshes of the Great Basin region. 

The manner of formation of these more recent saline deposits is 
clearly revealed by the geologic record of the events that led to their 
accumulation and deposition. These events are so recent that the 
changes which are constantly taking place on the earth's surface have 
not yet obliterated or seriously obscured the evidence. This clearness 
and completeness of the geologic record justifies confidence in the 
correctness of the hypotheses concerning the manner of origin of 
saline deposits of this form. 

Saline deposits in the Great Basin region, as elsewhere, are formed 
by the accumulation of the water-soluble constituents of the surface 
rocks of the earth's crust set free by that form of dissolution gen- 
erally referred to as weathering. These salts thus freed are taken 
into solution by the rainfall and the ground waters and are gradu- 
ally removed by the streams from the soils where they originate. 
Where these streams flow into inclosed basins with no outlet to the 
ocean, as is the rule in the Great Basin region, the dissolved salts are 
carried to the lowest part of the drainage area, where they ac- 
cumulate. In the past, presumably because of greater pre- 
cipitation than at present, these waters formed large lakes, which 
have since wholly or in part disappeared, and in the evaporation of 
these lake waters the salts have been deposited. Examples of saline 
deposits that have originated in this way in the low parts or so-called 
sinks of the inclosed drainage areas are common. 

Saline deposits derived from the wash of continental areas nor- 
mally contain among other constituents a certain proportion of 



136 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

potash salts. As a whole, the quantity of potash associated with the 
sodium and other bases is so small — only 2 or 3 per cent of the 
whole — that the potash can not be recovered profitably for commer- 
cial use. However, as the potassium salts are somewhat more solu- 
ble than most of the other constituents of natural saline solutions, it 
is believed that they are generally among the last to be deposited 
when those solutions are evaporated. Owing to this selective action 
of evaporation it is probable that somewhere in the saline residues of 
completely desiccated lakes the potassium compounds will be segre- 
gated in much richer concentrations than elsewhere. This condition 
might not exist in natural saline deposits if the deposition of the 
salines were interrupted by some event which permitted the escape of 
the residual brines before all their constituents or final products were 
deposited. But apparently in the playas of the Great Basin no such 
event has interposed; hence all the constituents of the accumulated 
brines must still remain, and it is believed that in certain favorable 
places rich potassium-bearing salts exist. 

Most of the lakes that formerly existed in the Great Basin have 
completely disappeared by evaporation. Vast quantities of saline 
residues must have been deposited by the final drying up of these 
lakes, but for the most part such deposits are not now seen at the 
surface. It is believed that the greater part of the salines deposited 
simultaneously with the disappearance of the lakes has since been 
buried by sediments carried into these basins by streams and depos- 
ited as alluvial wash or in later lakes that have occupied the original 
depressions. Older saline deposits elsewhere have been formed in a 
similar way. 

If this hypothesis is sound, it follows that the probability of en- 
countering saline deposits by drilling in the bottom of the desiccated 
lake basins is very great and that under favorable conditions potas- 
sium-rich salines will be among those encountered. It is hoped that 
such buried salines may not in all places be so deep as to be 
inaccessible. 

Field work undertaken by the Government in the search for pot- 
ash has heretofore been largely of an exploratory character and has 
not followed any general or established rule of procedure. A sys- 
tematic study of brines, bitterns, and rock-salt deposit in all parts of 
the United States is included in the general plan. The Geological 
Survey has drilled a well approximately 1,000 feet deep near the 
center of the Carson Desert, in northern Nevada. This test is not 
regarded as completed. Elsewhere in Nevada and in California a 
number of shallow drill holes have been sunk in othe/ ancient lake 
basins. Some of these experiments are yielding significant and 
possibly important results. 



LANDS BEARING POTASH AND RELATED SALINES. 137 

CLASSIFICATION OF POTASH-BEARING LANDS. 

Congress, responding to the urgent recommendation of the Presi- 
dent, has so amended the withdrawal act (p. 43) that deposits of 
potassium-rich minerals may be included in reserves until an appro- 
priate law for their disposition is enacted. In view of the variety of 
such deposits in commercially available form and of their impor- 
tance in industry, it is doubtless the intention of Congress, if the 
present search is successful, to make appropriate provision for their 
development and disposal. Meanwhile, as investigation by the 
scientists of the Government bureaus reveals promising localities, 
these localities, if they involve public lands, will be withdrawn from 
entry until their value as sources of potash can be demonstrated or 
disproved. If they prove to contain rich deposits the withdrawals 
will be maintained until Congress can act. Three reserves of this 
type have already been created by the President. They include 
133,829 acres in Nevada and California. 

The order of withdrawal by which potash reserve No. 2 was created 
is given herewith as an example of this type of action. 

Department of the Interior, 

United States Geological Survey, 

Washington, February 20, 1913. 
The honorable the Secretary of the Interior. 

Sir: Investigations by the Geological Survey in the State of California indi- 
cate that the lands listed below, which lie within a dry lake known as Searles 
Lake, probably contain valuable deposits of potash. I therefore recommend the 
submission to the President of the following order of withdrawal, which involves 
69,840 acres. 

Very respectfully, Geo. Otis Smith, 

Director. 

February 20, 1913. 
Respectfully referred to the President with favorable recommendation. 

Walter L. Fisher, 

Secretary. 
Order of Withdrawal. 

Potash reserve No. 2 — California No. 1. 

Under and pursuant to the provisions of the act of Congress approved June 
25, 1910 (36 Stat., 847), entitled "An act to authorize the President of the 
United States to make withdrawals of public lands in certain cases," as 
amended by act of Congress approved August 24, 1912 (Public No. 316), it is 
hereby ordered that the following described lands be, and the same are hereby, 
withdrawn from settlement, location, sale, or entry and reserved for classifica- 
tion and in aid of legislation affecting nonmetalliferous mineral deposits : 

Mount Diablo meridian, California. 

T. 24 S., R. 43 E., sec. 32, SE. £ of SE i ; 
sec. 33, S. \ ; 

sac, 34, SW. I, W. £ of SE. i, SE. i of SE. } ; 
see. 35, S. I of SW. h 



138 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

An area bounded as follows: Beginning at the southeast corner of sec. 31, 
T. 24 S., R. 43 E. ; thence west 2 miles ; thence south 12 miles ; thence east 9 
miles; thence north 12 miles; thence west 2\ miles, more or less, to the south 
quarter corner of sec. 36, T. 24 S., R. 43 E. ; thence west 4J miles, more or less, 
along the south line of T. 24 S., R. 43 E., to point of beginning. 

This withdrawal is made subject to all rights lawfully initiated under any- 
valid mining locations made upon said lands so long as such rights are main- 
tained in full compliance with law. 

Wm. H. Taft, 

February 21, 1913. President. 

As the geologic conditions under which potassium deposits are 
formed differ from those required for the deposition of the other 
nonmetalliferous minerals, except the related salines, special field 
methods have been used for their discovery. The steps to be taken in 
classifying lands as potash-bearing or potash-free subsequent to field 
examination are, however, identical with those followed in the classi- 
fication of lands with regard to such other resources as phosphate 
and petroleum. The present laws do not provide for appraisal and 
sale, as in the case of coal lands, nor for lease. 

MISCELLANEOUS NONMETALLIFEROUS MINERAL LANDS. 

Some of the important minerals besides those already discussed 
are limestone, building and ornamental stones, cement materials, 
sJates, glass sand, gravel, volcanic ash, diatomaceous earth, kaolin 
and other clays, fuller's earth, gypsum, borax, salt, sulphur, monazite, 
talc, soapstone, quartz, feldspar, cryolite, mica, gems and precious 
stones, strontium compounds, fluorspar, barytes, pyrite, graphite, 
asbestos, magnesite, abrasives, asphalt and other hydrocarbons such 
as gilsonite and ozokerite, mineral waters, mineral paints, and bro- 
mine, as well as guano and peat. 

A great many of the so-called nonmetalliferous minerals contain 
metallic elements which either can not be extracted commercially or 
are regarded as of little or no value as metals but which by their 
union with nonmetallic elements from substances that are sought 
because of their nonmetallic properties. This is true of such minerals 
as corundum, an oxide of the metal aluminum, and gypsum, a sul- 
phate of the metal calcium. Monazite is sought as the chief source 
of oxides of several rare metals. There are, however, so-called non- 
metalliferous minerals whose metallic content is high and which 
may under certain conditions be regarded also as metallic minerals. 
A notable example is pyrite, a sulphide of iron, which is extensively 
employed in the manufacture of sulphuric acid because of its high 
content of sulphur. With advancement in industrial chemistry some 
minerals now classed as nonmetalliferous may be placed in the cate- 
gory of those which yield valuable metals and others now used may 
be discarded. 



MISCELLANEOUS NONMETALLIFEEOUS MINEKAL LANDS. 139 

The geologic occurrence of the minerals named in the foregoing 
list is very diverse and the characteristics of the deposits containing 
them will therefore be referred to but briefly. Many of them exist 
in stratified or bedded form* Limestone, building stones, some 
cement materials, and some ornamental stones occur as sedimentary 
or metamorphic rocks. Slates are obtained usually from beds and are 
quarried in much the same manner as other building stone. Some 
glass sand is made by crushing a loosely consolidated sandstone or is 
obtained from beds of loose sand. Gravel is usually found in more or 
less bedded form in so-called " gravel banks." Volcanic ash and 
diatomaceous earth are ordinarily found in stratified deposits or 
beds. Clays, including kaolin and fuller's earth, result from the 
accumulation of the less soluble residues of the decomposition of pre- 
existing rocks and minerals and are obtained almost entirely from 
bedded deposits. Some clays are obtained by dredging the bottoms 
of streams or lakes. Kaolin in its purest form results from the resid- 
ual decomposition of pegmatitic feldspar in place. 

Gypsum, borax, and halite, or common salt, are found in deposits 
that are related with respect to the manner of their geologic occur- 
rence. They are found most abundantly in association with stratified 
rocks and are regarded as chemical deposits resulting from the evapo- 
ration of waters of inland seas and lakes. Some deposits of borax 
and halite occur in more or less stratified form in the beds of present- 
day salt lakes or marshes. Sulphur deposits large enough to be of 
economic importance occur as products of volcanic activity and are 
found near volcanic craters and also near some hot springs, either 
active or extinct. 

Monazite, owing to its minute crystalline form and great weight, 
occurs in greatest quantity where it has been concentrated in placer 
deposits. 

Talc and soapstone are very soft minerals which have presumably 
resulted from the alteration of other minerals. Soapstone, a talc 
schist, occurs with other rocks of various kinds, usually crystalline or 
metamorphic; talc occurs in beds intercalated in schistose limestone 
and in lenses or pockets in certain intrusive rocks. 

Many minerals exist in veins or in the form of lode deposits. 
Quartz, feldspar, cryolite, mica, and some gems are found in veins 
in crystalline rocks. The strontium minerals occur principally in 
lenses^ in granular and columnar masses, in bedded deposits, and 
in crystals that form nests and geodes in limestone. Fluorspar is 
found, as a rule, in veins in limestone, gneiss, schist, and sandstone. 
It is a common gangue of metallic ores, particularly those of lead, 
zinc, and tin. Barytes occurs in veins and beds associated with other 
ores, as well as in veins and masses in limestone. 



140 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

Pyrite is found in fissure veins and along the bedding planes of 
sedimentary and met amorphic rocks. It occurs in various other 
forms in rocks of practically all kinds and a'ges. Graphite is found 
mainly in the older crystalline metamorphic rocks in embedded masses 
and veins, although in some places it occurs in beds. 

Asbestos is an alteration product found in veins in older crystal- 
line rocks. Magnesite is also generally regarded as an alteration 
product and is found in veins as well as in bedlike masses. Some 
abrasives, like corundum, emery, and garnet, occur in small crystals, 
principally in veins in igneous and metamorphic rocks. 

Some asphalt impregnates sands, sandstones, and limestones and 
occurs in veins in these rocks. Other hydrocarbons, such as gilsonite 
and ozokerite, are found in veins or fissures, usually in sandstones. 

Mineral waters are, of course, obtained from springs; and some 
common salt and sulphur, as well as the materials of some mineral 
paints, are obtained from deposits formed by the evaporation of 
spring water. Bromine is found in natural brines and bitterns. 

Guano occurs in massive deposits, which in some regions are of 
considerable thickness. It is usually found in caves or other pro- 
tected places. Peat results from the accumulation in bogs of plant 
remains that have undergone slight modification at the top, although 
if the deposit is thick its lower portion may have been reduced to a 
mass somewhat resembling lignite. 

Sections 2320 to 2325, inclusive, of the Revised Statutes prescribe 
certain rules and regulations to govern the location and patenting of 
u mining claims upon veins or lodes of quartz or other rock in place 
bearing gold, silver, cinnabar, lead, tin, copper, or other valuable 
deposits." Section 2329 provides for "claims usually called 'placers,' 
including all forms of deposit, excepting veins of quartz or other 
rock in place." Thus, although the minerals in the foregoing list 
exist in nature in beds, in veins, in massive form, or as liquids, or 
even in more than one of these forms, the law divides them into only 
two great classes — those which occur in veins or lodes of quartz or 
other rock in place and those usually called placers, including all 
other forms of deposits. The distinctions as to mode of occurrence 
of these minerals in nature are considered in classifying as mineral or 
nonmineral the lands containing them; such distinctions are the 
primary factors that under the present mining laws must always be 
considered in determining the law under which the deposits may be 
acquired. 

A large part of the information heretofore obtained by the Geolog- 
ical Survey regarding these minerals has been gathered in reconnais- 
sance examinations and in connection with reports on mineral re- 
sources, with the result that in most of the areas examined much 
geologic information that would be necessary for land classification 



MISCELLANEOUS NONMETALLIFEROUS MINERAL LANDS. 141 

has not been obtained, although the data gathered are entirely ade- 
quate for the purposes for which they have been sought. 

No particular method is at present followed in the field examina- 
tion of deposits of these minerals, and there is no necessity for 
methods materially different from those pursued in detailed work 
on other metalliferous or nonmetalliferous deposits. Nor do the 
requirements as to tlje data to be gathered and the form in which they 
should be assembled differ essentially from those for other minerals. 
In addition to the location, a brief description of the nature and geo- 
logic structure of the rocks in which the deposits occur, with data 
regarding the thickness and succession of the rocks, their dip and 
strike, the extent of the deposits, and analyses of the material, are 
all important in the examination of bedded deposits. In the consid- 
eration of vein deposits data regarding the character of the vein, 
the systems and directions of joints, fissures, and fractures which may 
have formed the ore cavities, the dip and strike of the veins, the 
nature of the gangue material, and the wall rock are equally im- 
portant. Statements of production are always desirable. The ques- 
tion of relative value — that is, of mineral value as compared with 
agricultural, power, or other values — must be considered in the classi- 
fication of some lands because of the fact that the laws governing the 
disposition of certain minerals refer specifically to lands that are 
" chiefly valuable " therefor. Other factors, some or all of which are 
in many cases to be considered in judging the relative value of a 
mineral deposit, are the following: 

1. Demand for the mineral, both, present and future. 

2. Character of the deposit ; chemical and physical properties and extent. 

3. Location with reference to market and in some cases to fuel supply. 

4. Transportation facilities and rates. 

5. Market price of the product. 

6. Whether or not the particular deposit possesses other peculiar advantages 
rendering it more valuable than like deposits in the region and elsewhere. 

The character of the deposits, their location, and the transporta- 
tion facilities influence the cost of production by their effect on the 
cost of working the deposits, the cost of the plant, and in some 
places the cost of the fuel used in the manufacture of the product. 
These factors may also exert a most important influence on the sell- 
ing price of the output by their effect on the cost of placing it in the 
market. 

If the earlier geologic examinations had been made with a view 
to classification more precise instrumental work and a record of all 
the factors outlined as having a bearing on the deposits would have 
been required. No attempt has yet been made to systemize for 
purposes of land classification the available data regarding these 
minerals, and although the Geological Survey has prepared and sub- 



142 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

mitted to the General Land Office many reports that have been a 
guide to action by that office and have been equivalent in many 
cases to nonmineral classification and in a few cases to mineral 
classification, no withdrawals and no formal classifications of lands 
because of their content of any of these minerals have been made. 
Although such minerals are useful and valuable, they are not iri 
general of so great present or prospective use or value as coal and 
certain other nonmetallif erous minerals contained in lands for whose 
classification more specific provision has been made. Practically all 
minerals are of some value, but those of greatest value are naturally 
those which have the greatest present or future use and which are 
at the same time most easily or profitably marketable. Sand, for 
example, is of great use, but it is so common that in most localities 
it has almost no market value. Therefore, although the lands con- 
taining the nonmetalliferous minerals here discussed are, at the dis- 
cretion of the President, subject to withdrawal and classification 
under the act of June 25, 1910, as amended by the act of August 
24, 1912, there is no such public need for segregating these lands 
as there is for segregating lands containing deposits of such min- 
erals as coal, oil, potash, and phosphate. Nevertheless, should it be 
deemed by the President to be in the public interest to withdraw or 
to classify as mineral land an area containing any of these deposits, 
because of a public need for a present or a future reserve supply, 
or with a view to preventing alienation of the mineral deposits under 
laws relating to nonmineral land, or as an aid to future disposition, 
his action would be based on a question of fact which it is the prov- 
ince of the Geological Survey to determine. So long as such with- 
drawal or classification is not deemed to be in the public interest, 
however, the land will remain open to exploration, discovery, occu- 
pation, and purchase under the mining laws unless Congress shall 
otherwise provide. 

METALLIFEROUS MINERAL LANDS. 
PURPOSE OF CLASSIFICATION. 

The usual object in view in a consideration of the classification of 
nonmetalliferous lands as mineral land is to obtain their temporary 
withdrawal from entry, either to permit their appraisal, as in the 
case of coal land, or to await protective legislation, as in the case of 
potash or phosphate land. But metalliferous lands, as such, are not 
subject to withdrawal, and their classification is directed to other 
objects, which will be indicated by a brief account of some cases that 
have been considered by the Geological Survey. 



METALLIFEKOUS MINEKAL LANDS. 143 

Perhaps the most important case yet considered is that relating to 
the Northern Pacific land grant. Every alternate section in a strip 
extending 40 miles on each side of the right of way was granted to 
the Northern Pacific Railroad Co. to assist it in constructing a trans- 
continental line, but the act provided that the railroad company 
should not receive any lands that were valuable by reason of their 
content of mineral deposits other than coal and iron. It therefore 
became necessary to classify the entire grant with respect to its 
value for such deposits, and in practice the chief problem of this 
classification has been to determine the presence or absence of valu- 
able metalliferous deposits. A great part of this classification was 
accomplished by specially appointed commissioners, and the Geo- 
logical Survey had no part in the work until 1905. In that year a 
Survey geologist, accompanied by a field agent of the Land Office, 
examined a large portion of the grant lying in Idaho and Montana 
in order to obtain information supplementary to that on which the 
special commissioners had recommended a mineral classification of 
the greater part of this tract. The Survey, however, took no further 
action regarding that particular examination. The greater part of 
the tract was classified as mineral land as the result of a hearing 
before the register and receiver at Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, but this 
classification was set aside by the Commissioner of the General Land 
Office on petition of the Northern Pacific Railway, on the ground 
that it was based on insufficient field work. In 1910, therefore, an 
appropriation was made by Congress (act of June 25., 1910; 36 Stat., 
703, 739) for a new and much more thorough examination, for mak- 
ing which the Commissioner of the General Land Office requested the 
services of members of the Geological Survey. Four parties, each 
comprising a geologist, a geologic assistant, and the necessary 
camp hands, devoted the field" season of 1910 to the work, which was 
completed in the season of 1911 by three similar parties. The result- 
ing classification, however^ was not sufficient to decide the status of 
all the lands in controversy. The railway company had the right to 
contest classifications adverse to its interests and exercised this right 
as to many of the lands which, because they were classified as min- 
eral, would be excluded from the railroad grant. Hearings on the 
contested classifications are held before the registers and receivers of 
the appropriate land districts. An appeal can be taken from the 
decision of these officers to the Commissioner, and from him to the 
Secretary. No final decision has yet (February 28, 1913) been ren- 
dered concerning any of the classifications of the Survey that are 
under contest. 

The Survey has also been required to classify several Indian 
reservations, in whole or in part, either before or after the reserva- 
tions were opened to settlement, the question in the one case being 



144 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

whether or not the lands shall be allotted to the Indians, in the 
other what kind of entry or settlement on them shall be permitted. 
Lands valuable for minerals are withheld from allotment to In- 
dians, as they are from the Northern Pacific Railroad grant, although 
for Indian lands no exception of coal and iron is made. A Survey 
geologist was engaged during the summer of 1912 in classifying the 
Flathead Reservation in Montana for the purpose of determining 
the mineral character of certain lands and their availability for allot- 
ment to the Indians, and many other classifications, both of individ- 
ual allotments and of entire reservations, have been reported to tlie 
Indian Office. 

Before Indian lands are thrown open to settlement it is desirable 
to know what parts of them contain valuable mineral deposits, 
in order that these parts may not be alienated as agricultural land. 
Failure to classify the lands in advance of the opening of the reser- 
vations is likely to result in conflict between agricultural and mineral 
claimants. This has occurred, for example, in the northern part of 
the Colville Reservation, which was thrown open to prospectors in 
1898 and to agricultural claimants later. Numerous protests made 
by mineral claimants in this region against the issuance of patents 
to agricultural claimants have aroused the bitter resentment of the 
ranchers, who have been prevented by these protests from getting 
final patents. An examination of these lands for the purpose of de- 
termining whether the mineral claims showed deposits sufficiently 
valuable to entitle the claimants to mineral patents or whether these 
claimants were acting in bad faith, as alleged by some of the ranch- 
ers, was accordingly made by a geologist of the Survey in the season 
of 1912 ; and during the same season the unallotted part of the Col- 
ville Reservation was examined for the purpose of settling conflicts 
between mineral claimants and Indian allottees and of classifying 
the remaining unallotted lands. 

Another type of classification has arisen of late, in which the Sur- 
vey has been required to pass upon many and varied individual 
cases in which the propriety of granting patent to claimants was in 
doubt. It is sometimes suspected that attempt is being made to ob- 
tain valuable agricultural or timber land or strategic points for 
power development by the subterfuge of a mining claim on land 
where in reality no mineral deposit of substantial value has been 
found. On the other hand, there is sometimesi danger lest a* valu- 
able lode or placer deposit be covered by some form of nonmineral 
entry. If these cases are important the department may call upon 
the Survey for any information that it may possess concerning a 
certain tract, or it may even direct that a geologist be detailed to 
make a special examination. One case of this type, of interest as 
one of the earliest examples of land classification by the Geological 






METALLIFEROUS MINERAL LANDS. 145 

Survey, was the determination of the nonmineral character of a 
"school section" on the edge of the city of Tacoma, Wash. This 
detailed examination was made in 1895 and resulted in the defeat of 
the mineral claimant, who had attempted to obtain under the placer 
law nonmineral land possessing large suburban value. As a result 
of the decision the title to this land passed to the State of Wash- 
ington. 

METHODS OF CLASSIFICATION. 
AGENCIES EMPLOYED. 

Classifications promulgated by the Survey are made by the metal- 
liferous section of the land-classification board and are based on 
data gathered by the field geologist and by him presented to the 
section. Other geologists having special knowledge of the area or 
type of deposits under consideration may be called in, so that each 
classification represents the best scientific and technical judgment of 
the Survey. 

PROBLEMS INVOLVED. 

Each classification of metalliferous land involves one or both of the 
following problems: (1) Whether an alleged "discovery" of min- 
eral constitutes valid ground for issuing a mining patent; (2) whether 
certain lands are without value for their metalliferous minerals and 
may therefore be patented under the laws relating to nonmineral 
land. The first problem is typically presented where the propriety of 
issuing patent to a mineral claimant is in question ; a typical example 
of the second problem is that presented by the Northern Pacific land 
grant. 

Evidently the first problem is the more concrete and the more 
readily solved. In order to determine the validity of a specific min- 
eral claim all that is necessary may be to find and identify the claim 
and to estimate the value of the lode by sampling. The most difficult 
cases, on the other hand, are probably those that involve the classifi- 
cation of large areas in which little prospecting has been done. In 
order to reach an intelligent conclusion in such a case evidence of 
many kinds must be obtained, the gathering and effective presentation 
of which may involve the making of a fairly complete topographic 
and geologic map, a task which only a geologist can effectively 
perform. 

In actual practice few cases present only one of the problems stated. 
Even if the main problem is the first one it is usually desirable that 
the examiner should learn something of the general geology of the 
district; and if, on the other hand, the main problem is the second 
the apparent value of particular claims is an important part of the 
evidence. It is not necessary or practicable, therefore, to separate 

78894°— Bull. 537—13 10 



146 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

the two main groups of cases in the detailed account of field methods 
that follows, despite their clearly distinct legal status. In most of 
the cases considered nearly all the kinds of information to be enumer- 
ated are used to a greater or less extent, and a geologic map of some 
kind invariably forms a part of the record. 

The metalliferous deposits examined or looked for in most of the 
investigations preceding classification are veins, magmatic ore bodies, 
contact-metamorphic deposits, and bodies formed by replacement. In 
mining law these deposits are usually comprised in the term " lodes," 
and they may conveniently be so designated here. Some cases have 
to do with placer deposits, which are easier to examine and classify 
than lodes. 

PRELIMINARY PROCEDURE. 

As in the classification of nonmetalliferous lands and geologic 
field work in general, it is the duty of the geologist, before he takes 
the field, to gather information about the geology of the region to be 
examined and to provide himself with a base map. Other informa- 
tion that is especially desirable for work of this class relates to the lo- 
cation and status of the mining claims in the region. This is the 
only matter that requires further notice here, for the subject of base 
maps has been discussed elsewhere and the utility of geologic in- 
formation is self-evident. 

Plats and descriptions of patented mining claims are on file in the 
offices of the surveyors general of the several States and in the 
General Land Office at Washington. These show accurately the posi- 
tion of the claims with reference to land lines or location monuments. 
Provided with copies of these records, the examiner is able readily 
to find the patented claims. Less complete and accurate descriptions 
of the unpatented claims are filed in the offices of county clerks 
with the first records of location and the affidavits on assessment 
work. 

ITELD WORK. 
LOCATION AND TOPOGRAPHY. 

The methods of location used in classification of this kind may 
be any of those described on pages 53-61. Some of the conditions of 
classifying metalliferous land, however, influence the selection of 
methods. The minute accuracy that characterizes much of the work 
on coal land is not often necessary in work on metalliferous deposits, 
and it is therefore feasible to use comparatively rough methods like 
that of the pacing traverse, which has been employed to a consider- 
able extent. Another influential fact is that metalliferous land is 
more likely than nonmetalliferous land to be situated in mountainous 
territory. This is not obvious at first glance, but as metalliferous 



METALLIFEKOUS MINEKAL LANDS. 147 

deposits are most common where the geologic structure is complex, 
and as mountains are regions of upheaval and disturbance, the con- 
nection between topography and mineral wealth is real. The rugged- 
ness of the areas in which the greater part of the work of classifying 
metalliferous land is done precludes the use of some methods that 
are especially adapted to w T ork in a flat country, such as that in which 
distance is measured by the paces of a horse. The plane table is 
much used in open country, and stadia traverses of roads or streams 
are sometimes made for purposes of control. 

INVESTIGATION OE PLACER DEPOSITS. 

Geologic relations. — Although theory is not so important in rela- 
tion to placer deposits as in relation to lodes, the physiographic his- 
tory of the region may afford some guidance in the search for valu- 
able placer ground, as the following considerations will show. 

The most important geologic principle relating to placers is that 
concentration sufficient to make a valuable deposit has usually been 
the result of long and perhaps repeated working over of the gravels 
by streams. Therefore, other things being equal, well-washed de- 
posits consisting in part of reworked older gravels would seem most 
likely to be rich in gold. Moraines, on the other hand, or glacio- 
fluviatile deposits close to the place of their origin are unlikely to 
contain gold in sufficient concentration to be extracted with profit. 

With respect to the distance of the gravels from their source, how- 
ever, a happy medium is favorable. Too great proximity is incon- 
sistent with efficient concentration, but the gold, except in extremely 
fine division, is not carried so far as the gravels, and too great remote- 
ness from the source is therefore also unfavorable. Gold-bearing 
placers are likely to show a definite relation to such areas of aurifer- 
ous bedrock as can be outlined; they are partly within those areas 
but extend beyond their borders as a sort of fringe. 

Testing. — Although a knowledge of the general geology and physi- 
ography of the region may be a guide in the search for placers, the 
classification of land as valuable placer ground is always supported 
by more direct evidence, for the reason that the extent and value of a 
placer deposit can be determined much more closely than those of a 
lode. The examiner is expected to pan the gravels of all important 
streams in the area classified in order to obtain evidence regarding 
their possible value as placers and, incidentally, evidence regarding 
the gold content of the bedrock from which the placers have been 
derived. 

Testimony of miners. — Owing to their necessary limitations, the 
tests made by the examiner must be supplemented as fully as possible 
by the testimony of miners and prospectors. From these the ex- 



148 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

aminer may learn the tenor of the gravels, the probable extent of the 
pay dirt, and whether mining has been profitable. This testimony 
may be taken under oath, if the examiner has power to administer it. 
and should be corroborated, so far as possible, by assay certificates 
and other evidence. A geologist is able also to criticize the testimony 
in the light of geologic facts and would perceive, for instance, that 
an assertion that morainal gravels had been worked with profit would 
be in especial need of corroboration. 

INVESTIGATION OF LODE DEPOSITS. 

Kinds of evidence available. — The evidence which must determine 
whether land is to be classified as mineral because of lode deposits 
may be subdivided as follows: (1) General geology; (2) occurrence 
of valuable minerals or gangue minerals, disseminated or in veins, 
found in outcrops or float; (3) prospects and mines; (4) assays; (5) 
history of the region. Evidence of the first two classes is especially 
important in regions that have not been thoroughly prospected. 

General geology. — Certain geologic conditions, such as Assuring of 
the rocks, are generally recognized as favorable to the deposition of 
ore bodies; others, such as lack of deformation and very young 
country rock, are unfavorable. But ore deposits are the result of a 
happy combination of several factors, and it may be difficult to con- 
sider these factors separately and determine their relative weight. 
Of two districts geologically similar, one may be rich and the other 
poor in ore deposits, because of some difference not readily perceived. 
The most general cause of such differences, perhaps, is the variation 
in what Chamberlin and Salisbury call the " diffuse regional concen- 
tration " of the several metals, whether in sediments or magmas, 
which is presumably the cause of metallogenic provinces. 

Now, it is evident that geologic conditions, including obscure con- 
ditions that may be largely determinative, are more likely to be 
similar in neighboring than in widely separated areas. Neighboring 
districts are the more likely, for one thing, to be in the same metal- 
logenic province. Therefore, in judging whether a given geologic 
condition is favorable or not, the investigator should especially in- 
quire whether it seems to favor the deposition of ores in the vicinity 
of the area to be classified. For example, if ore bodies are known in 
one locality at the contact of a batholithic intrusion with a certain 
limestone formation, it is probable that they will be found at the 
contact of the same rocks in neighboring localities. 

This reasoning by analogy may form one of the arguments in sup- 
port of a mineral classification, but it can rarely be made the sole 
ground for such classification of a large area, which can hardly be 
successfully defended against a contest unless it is supported by some 
definite discoveries of mineral, made by prospectors or by the geolo- 



METALLIFEROUS MINERAL LANDS. 149 

gist himself. In fact, such concrete occurrences of mineral are likely 
to have even more weight in a contest than strictly geologic evidence. 
It may pertinently be asked, then, what special qualification for 
gathering the evidence required is possessed by a geologist compared 
with a prospector or any other intelligent observer. 

The geologist would perhaps have no special advantage if unlimited 
time were allowed for the examination. In f act, however, the time is 
limited, it may be all too strictly. It is impossible within the time 
allowed to explore every square foot of the area, and therefore obser- 
vation must be concentrated where deposits are most likely to be 
found. Now, in determining what places are best worth examination 
the geologist finds abundant practical use for his knowledge both of 
general and of local geology. His general knowledge teaches him 
that some geologic conditions are more favorable than others to the 
formation of valuable deposits, and he distributes his attention accord- 
ingly. He does not, for example, waste his time in looking for quartz 
veins in undisturbed rocks, knowing as he does that deformation and 
Assuring are necessary to the formation of veins. The special knowl- 
edge of the region which he may already have or which he is prepared 
by training to assimilate rapidly will enable him to recognize in the 
geologic environment of the ore deposits that have been found the 
details that are significant. If, for example, most of the known 
deposits of a district are the result of interaction between a limestone 
and an igneous intrusive, the geologist will presumably be quicker 
than a layman to recognize this fact and will explore with especial 
care the contacts between these rocks in areas near those which have 
proved productive. The geologist, in short, is better prepared than 
the layman to follow clues. 

The shorter the time allowed for the examination the more decided 
the advantage of the geologist over the man without geologic training. 
An exploration sufficiently thorough to discover even a large propor- 
tion of the valuable deposits in the region to be classified is rarely 
possible, and the value of many of the deposits found must be doubtful 
before they are thoroughly explored. It is correspondingly impor- 
tant, then, that the fullest and most reliable inferences be drawn from 
the data obtained in the field. 

The following paragraphs are intended to show what kind of 
geologic evidence the examiner seeks. 

Country rock. — The broadest generalizations that can be made 
regarding the influence of country rock, as indeed regarding other 
geologic factors, are of negative character. It is safe to say that very 
young unaltered volcanic rocks or imperfectly consolidated sediments 
are unlikely to contain metalliferous lodes. Further than this, how- 
ever, the probable richness of a formation bears no direct relation to 



150 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

its age, for valuable deposits are found in rocks of all ages, from the 
Tertiary to the most remote. 

In a particular district, however, the ores may show a preference 
for certain rocks. The favorable rocks may be those that contain 
minerals in a finely disseminated condition which may be valuable if 
they are anywhere sufficiently concentrated. Copper, for example, 
seems to be a constituent of some basic igneous rocks. Ready replace- 
ability, or the power of reacting vigorously with mineralizing solu- 
tions, may be the determining favorable factor ; and where the typical 
deposits of a district are replacements or contact-metamorphic de- 
posits calcareous sediments are usually more favorable than others. 
Again, the presence of some constituent which acts as a precipitant 
may determine the concentration of a valuable mineral ; organic mat- 
ter probably precipitates gold under some conditions, and carbona- 
ceous slates appear to be a common country rock of gold deposits. 
Finally, some purely physical feature may be determinative. The 
hard rocks of a district may be fissured to form breccias in which the 
ore-bearing solutions can circulate and deposit, while fissures in soft 
rocks would be clogged with impermeable gouge ; and fissures which 
are large and persistent in massive rocks might ramify, on entering 
fissile rocks, into a multitude of small slips parallel to the bedding or 
cleavage. 

Intrusions and metamorphism. — Although the nature and degree 
of the relation between igneous intrusion and ore deposition are still 
moot points, it is an established fact that ore deposits are especially 
abundant in the vicinity of intrusive contacts. Apart from strati- 
form deposits — such, for example, as those of iron oxide — ore bodies 
so remote from intrusive rocks as the lead and zinc deposits of the 
Mississippi Basin are rather exceptional, though not so exceptional 
as to make absence of intrusives a sufficient ground for classification 
of land as nonmineral. The general similarity in the distribution 
of ore deposits and of igneous rocks is particularly notable in the 
Western States. The presence of igneous intrusions must therefore 
be considered favorable, in general, to the deposition of ores. 

Ore bodies related to intrusion are found both in the intrusive 
rock itself and in the surrounding sedimentary rocks. Those which 
are not contact-metamorphic deposits in the strict sense are not more 
likely to be at the immediate contact than at a considerable distance 
from it. The central portion of a very large batholith is likely to 
be barren, but the peripheral portion is commonly ore bearing, and 
all of the denuded portion of a small batholith or stock is likely to 
contain ore deposits, for none of it is far from the contact. Large 
dikes also form the country rock of many ore deposits. The ores are 
formed in the rocks cut by the intrusive, not only within but beyond 
the zone of contact metamorphism. 



METALLIFEKOUS MINEKAL LANDS. 151 

Structure. — The geologic structure of most mining districts is 
complex, and in regions of nearly horizontal unfaulted strata metal- 
liferous lodes are scarce. Deformation, by giving rise to fault fis- 
sures and openings along bedding planes, probably determines the 
location of most lodes and is therefore favorable, in general, to 
the deposition of metalliferous ores. 

Faulting is of greater importance in the formation of lodes than 
folding. Some faulting is doubtless a prerequisite to the formation 
of fissures transverse to the bedding, although fault fissures along 
which great displacement has been effected are not commonly filled 
with veins of commercial importance, for, inasmuch as they are 
likely to be choked with gouge and subject to repeated movement, 
they are less likely to be ore bearing than fissures along which the 
displacement has been slight or even imperceptible. Veins are 
accordingly looked for near and parallel to faults of large throw 
rather than along those faults themselves. That sort of faulting 
which gives rise to a rather coarse breccia is perhaps most favorable. 
At any rate, zones of brecciation afford the best clue for the tracing 
of small faults and are likely to be mineralized. They are therefore 
looked for and examined with especial care. 

Folding, as well as faulting, may give rise to openings in which 
ores may be deposited. Saddle reefs constitute the most common 
type of deposits in openings thus formed. 

Outcrops and -float of lodes. — Outcrops of lodes afford the most 
direct evidence of mineral value that can be observed in the field 
apart from actual development, and they are therefore located and 
described with as great care as is practicable. If the deposits are 
veins, the direction and degree of persistence are determined if pos- 
sible ; this determination is particularly important if the classification 
must be close in the matter of location, but it is also important if in a 
neighboring region veins of a certain direction are known to be espe- 
cially rich. Size and composition are other features noted. Size 
affects, of course, the degree of value, but the mineral content is of 
more immediate interest to the examiner. 

In order to recognize lodes of probable value, the examiner endeav- 
ors to learn as much as possible concerning the appearance of the out- 
crops of lodes containing valuable minerals and familiarizes himself 
with the minerals likely to occur in the extremely oxidized portions 
of such lodes. Details regarding the surface indications along veins 
of proved importance in the region examined are sometimes obtained 
from prospectors and miners. The importance of these indications 
may be very great, for the minerals that make the lode valuable may 
not appear at the surface. More commonly than not the primary 
sulphides are represented at the surface by oxides or carbonates. 
The thoroughly weathered portion of a rich lode may even contain no 



152 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

compounds of the valuable metals. This is especially likely to be 
true of copper deposits, whose upper portions are commonly trans- 
formed to rusty porous masses containing quartz, iron oxide, and 
other substances that resist the action of the weather. This material, 
which is known as iron capping or gossan, may contain small 
amounts of the bright blue and green copper carbonates, but on the 
other hand it may be wholly devoid of copper minerals. Many lodes 
that weather to a gossan and others that are composed largely of 
easily weathered minerals do not project above the surface and are 
therefore likely to be overlooked. If a lode is about as hard as the 
country rock its outcrop is nearly level with the general surface, and 
the position of a lode composed of soft, easily weathered material may 
be marked by a trench instead of a ridge. Many veins, again, have 
no outcrop ; they are covered with soil, and their position is indicated 
only by float. It is therefore evident that both careful observation 
and intelligent inference are required to find the lodes and judge 
whether or not they are likely to prove valuable. 

The proximity of lodes containing minerals in sufficient concentra- 
tion to be commercially valuable may be indicated by the presence of 
such minerals or of gangue minerals associated with them, dissemi- 
nated through the country rock or in the form of narrow stringers. 
Some minerals commonly so found are calcite, pyrite, siderite, and 
chalcopyrite. The more easily weathered minerals are likely to be 
represented by their oxidation products. Siderite, for example, is 
usually and pyrite commonly represented by pseudomorphs of hy- 
drated ferric oxide. Extensive rusty staining of the country rock 
therefore causes the examiner to look for more specific evidence of 
mineralization. Other characteristic alterations of the country rock, 
such as leaching, chloritization, and sericitization, commonly occur 
along the walls of lodes and are therefore useful as clues. 

Probably the great majority of prospectors' discoveries are made 
by following float 1 to its source, and mineral classification likewise 
may rest in large measure upon the evidence afforded by float. Time 
will not always permit the tracing of float to its source, and the ex- 
aminer must then be content with inferences drawn from the char- 
acter and situation of the float as he finds it. In any case the first 
step is to consider how the float probably reached its actual position. 
It may have done so by either (1) hill creep, (2) water transporta- 
tion, or (3) ice transportation, or by a combination of any of these 
agencies. 

1. Most float has been transported to its present position by hill 
creep, which is constantly active on every slope. Angular float, without 
marks of attrition, which does not lie in an actual or former stream 

1 This term is commonly applied by prospectors to all fragments of lode matter not 
in place, however transported ; it will be used in this sense here. 






METALLIFEROUS MINERAL LANDS. 153 

channel or in a glaciated area has presumably come to its place by hill 
creep, and its source should be looked for, after the method of pros- 
pectors, by following it straight uphill. Normally the parent lode 
will be found somewhere between the point where the float was dis- 
covered and the top of the slope. If a search is impracticable the 
probable source may perhaps be inferred, on the same principle, 
within narrow limits, especially if a good topographic map is avail- 
able; the source may thus be assigned to a particular section or even 
to a smaller subdivision. Moreover, the probable source can often be 
judged within narrower limits than those set by the distance from 
the point of discovery and the top of the slope. The small fragments 
of vein quartz, mingled with soil, which may be found almost any' 
where in a region of deformed rocks, are likely to have crept down- 
hill for a long distance; but large blocks of quartz thickly strewn 
over a small and fairly well defined area, especially an elongated 
area on a moderate slope, may reasonably be presumed to have come 
but a short distance from a vein. It is evidently necessan^, then, to 
note fully, on the spot, the size and character of the float fragments 
as a help in judging the source ; and their size may also roughly indi- 
cate the thickness of the parent lode. 

2. Rounded fragments or bowlders of float, especially if in a stream 
channel in an unglaciated area, may be presumed to have been trans- 
ported by water. Float of this character is also frequently followed 
by prospectors up the streams and slopes to its source. This process is 
too slow and difficult to be employed often by the examiner. But 
stream-transported float may ordinarily be assumed to have origi- 
nated in the drainage basin where it is found, and scrutiny of the 
stream gravels may tell the examiner what to look for in a particular 
basin. 

3. Float that has been transported by glaciers is subject to much 
the same conditions as water-transported float. It is usually to be 
recognized by its association with moraines and glacial sculpture but 
may sometimes be confused with float of the other two kinds. It is 
less feasible to find its source by systematic tracing than to find that 
of other float, but where the glaciation is local the parent ledge is 
likely to be near by and well exposed. 

As placer deposits are really one form of float in the broadest sense, 
this may be the appropriate place to point out their value as indi- 
cating the auriferous character of the country rock of the drainage 
basin in which they are found. 

It may be remarked, finally, that exceptionally, owing to migration 
of divides or their transgression by glaciers, float is found outside of 
the drainage basin in which it originated. This is most likely to be 
true of old stream gravels. 



154 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

Prospects and mines.— An important part of the examining geolo- 
gist's work is to note the location of all prospects and mines and to 
examine all of them, with the possible exception of those that are 
well known as producers. The most obviously useful data to be ob- 
tained from mining properties concern the value and visible quantity 
of the ore and the production if the property is producing. The 
examiner checks one against another his own observations, the infor- 
mation given by assay certificates and smelter returns, and the tes- 
timony of owners or mine officials, which may be in the form of an 
affidavit if it is thought desirable by an examiner who is empowered 
to administer an oath. 

The information gathered from a prospect or mine may do much 
more than indicate the mineral or nonmineral character of the claim 
on which it is located and that of a little land in its immediate 
vicinity. The most useful clues may be obtained in openings which 
permit comparison between the appearance of a lode underground 
and that of its outcrop. By making these comparisons the examiner 
is much aided in recognizing the outcrops of important lodes that 
have not been opened, and by study of the geologic environment of 
prospected deposits he may form an opinion as to where others are 
most likely to be found. 

Samples and assays. — Ore samples and assays showing their value 
give the most concrete evidence and have great weight at public hear- 
ings. To obtain abundant samples and assays, therefore, is one of 
the examiner's chief duties, and quantity of material is not more 
important than full information indicating its value as evidence. 
Samples collected by biased persons are taken only too often either 
from the best part of a lode or from the worst part, or even from 
the wall rocks; and the procuring of truly representative samples 
requires both judgment and honesty on the part of the examiner. 
Full records regarding the collection of the samples are indispens- 
able. Even after every precaution is taken in the matter of collect- 
ing and record there may be much room for inference, for the weath- 
ered, superficial portion of a lode, which alone may be accessible, is 
sure to differ in tenor from the unweathered portion from which the 
valuable metals are partly or chiefly to be won. Where ores of the 
base metals are concerned, values may sometimes be estimated by 
inspection closely enough to dispense with assays. Usually, how- 
ever, and especially if values in gold and silver are to be found, the 
classification of any large tract calls for many assays, and material 
to be assayed for precious metals must be collected with special pre- 
cautions. Each sample must be large enough to suffice for several 
assays, so that any result whose accuracy is doubted may be checked, 
and the material must be broken up and well mixed to insure its 
homogeneity before it is divided into portions. 



BY-PRODUCTS OF MINERAL- LAND CLASSIFICATION. 155 

The Geological Survey does not make assays, not being provided 
with the proper equipment or a sufficient force. Its assay work is 
therefore done by custom assayers of established reputation. 

' History of the region. — The question sometimes arises whether the 
mining possibilities of a region are fairly represented by the extent 
to which it is developed. If a region contains few prospects and no 
mines, or if many of its prospects have been abandoned, is it or is it 
not because valuable metalliferous deposits are really absent? Some 
light may be shed upon this problem by the history of the region. 

If the region has long been accessible and is known to have been 
well prospected, lack of development should have some weight against 
classification of land as mineral. It must be considered, on the other 
hand, whether local prejudice against some kind of country rock or 
gangue material may not have lessened the value of prospecting, or 
whether the region may not contain deposits of a kind that has not 
been looked for. 

Abandonment of prospects may not always indicate the worthless- 
ness of the lodes ; it is sometimes due to the miner's failure to recognize 
valuable ores. Many metal prospectors have little knowledge of the 
appearance of ores other than those of gold, silver, copper, and lead 
and do not always recognize the secondary ores of copper, lead, and 
zinc. For this reason the dumps of abandoned mines may reveal 
ores of rarer metals or others not formerly used or commonly searched 
for by prospectors. 

Mining methods and facilities often, of course, determine the suc- 
cess or failure of a mine, and it is proper to consider in every case 
whether abandonment may not have been caused by inefficient mining, 
crudity of methods, or difficulty of transportation. The transpor- 
tation problem may be largely disregarded, for if a region develops 
good metalliferous deposits transportation is pretty certain to be 
provided in time, but the presence or absence of roads and trails has 
an important bearing on the accessibility of the region, which in 
turn is a factor of prime importance in deciding whether the absence 
of prospecting indicates the absence of valuable deposits. 

BY-PRODUCTS OF MINERAL-LAND CLASSIFICATION. 
VALUE OF COLLATERAL INFORMATION OBTAINED. 

The process of classifying the public lands as to their mineral char- 
acter involves the gathering of a large amount of information which 
is not only essential to the classification but valuable for other rea- 
sons. Furthermore, the accuracy and completeness of field observa- 
tion necessary for classification afford an opportunity to record many 
facts which are entirely extraneous to the classification itself but 



156 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

which may be now or at some later time of interest and value in other 
ways. These " by-products " of the process of land classification are 
of many kinds. Some are of value to home seekers and the public at 
large, others directly concern engineers and mining men, and still 
others are of present interest chiefly to scientists. 

DATA OF DIRECT INTEREST TO THE PUBLIC AT LARGE. 

While all information obtainable concerning the public domain is 
of ulterior interest to the people, information relating to such matters 
as the surface features, water supply, and character of the soil of a 
piece of land may prove to be of vital importance to the present or 
prospective settler. It is not practicable for the Geological Survey 
to make an exhaustive study of these features, but in the work of 
classification a certain amount of such information is always recorded. 
Thus, a map, supplemented by a written description, of each town- 
ship examined for its mineral content is placed in the Survey files, 
showing in a rough way the agricultural character of the country. 
From these records it is possible to tell whether a section of land is 
suitable for dry farming or is adapted only to grazing, to obtain some 
idea of the number and size of the trees upon it, or to prepare a pre- 
liminary report as to its irrigability. 

The field men engaged in work relating to land classification also 
record the position and size of all springs and water holes which they 
may find. This information is of direct value to the settler, but it 
also has another more general use. The more valuable agricultural 
lands of the public domain are rapidly passing into "private owner- 
ship under the various settlement laws. It is recognized that most of 
the lands remaining are chiefly valuable for grazing or other uses not 
dependent on tillage, although the present laws do not adequately 
provide for their acquisition for these other uses. Congress has 
already given consideration to this problem and will doubtless reach 
a solution of it within the next few years. One of the most important 
factors to be considered in arriving at that solution will be the rela- 
tion of the watering places to the range lands, for such lands can not 
be used without an accessible water supply. The accumulation of 
these data, therefore, in addition to being immediately useful to 
settlers and others, will be valuable in solving one of the public-land 
problems now confronting our lawmakers. 

In studying and mapping a coal or phosphate bed it is necessary 
also to observe rather closely the geologic structure or attitude of 
the inclosing rocks. In some areas structure may have no bearing 
on mineral-land classification and yet may be valuable in deter- 
mining the probability of obtaining a good well or of striking 
artesian water. The principles governing the flow of underground 



BY-PEODUCTS OF MINERAL- LAND CLASSIFICATION. 157 

water, though not generally understood by the layman, are yet com- 
paratively simple, and a glance at the geologic map of a region ma} 7 
indicate at once the most favorable locality for sinking a well. As 
a minor illustration of the value of such information may be men- 
tioned the fact that one of the geologists of the Survey had occasion 
during the summer of 1912 to advise two newly arrived settlers in 
the ceded lands of the Crow Indian Reservation, Mont., to sink 
their wells on the east side of a ridge rather than on the west side, 
as they had intended, because of the simple geologic fact that the 
rocks dip slightly to the east and the water follows down the dip, 
as is proved by the numerous springs on the east side and the few 
on the west. Such information is, of course, only of local applica- 
tion, but as the western country becomes more thickly settled and 
questions relating to city water supply arise, information of this 
kind gathered for the primary purpose of land classification niay 
prove to be of considerable value. 

Miscellaneous data of these types are utilized in various ways. 
Such of them as can with propriety be so used may be published in 
the bulletins in* which the geologic material assembled in the course 
of land classification is made available for public use. Others, al- 
though not published and not used in mineral-land classification, 
are of the greatest value to the department in administering laws 
relating to nonmineral land, like the enlarged-homestead act, the 
desert-land law, or the Carey acts. Still others represent merely the 
accumulation of data likely to be needed if certain moot questions 
concerning public lands are to be decided by future legislation. All 
these actual or prospective uses, however, either directly or indirectly 
concern the public at large. 

DATA RELATING TO PROSPECTING AND MINING. 

Information regarding the character, location, and extent of each 
stratum of economic importance in the area examined forms a large 
part of the data on which classification is based. This information 
is published by the Survey in special bulletins or in the annual 
" Contributions to economic geology." A study of the map and 
of the plates of sections taken on the coal beds in any field, for ex- 
ample, will indicate to the prospective operator the most favorable 
location for a mine, and the text includes observations concerning 
the cover of the bed, the character of the roof and floor rocks, and 
the general structure, including faulting, of the inclosing strata. 

Aside from the local and particular facts recorded for each area, 
as this work progresses the extent and character of each of the great 
mineral-bearing provinces are being accurately determined and more 
and more comprehensive and definite data concerning the mineral 
wealth available for the Nation's use are being gathered. 



158 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

The study of the rock structure in an area is valuable not only 
in relation to its water supply, as has been indicated, but also as 
bearing on the occurrence of oil. The accumulation of oil and gas 
in the strata is governed by laws which are probably akin to those 
which direct the movement of water, and a knowledge of the rock 
structure is therefore, as a rule, of great assistance in the location 
of an oil well. Some new oil fields have been prospected and opened 
almost entirely on geologic evidence of this kind. It has also hap- 
pened that the details of rock structure observed in a field examined 
merely for coal have been found to have an entirely new applica- 
tion and significance in subsequent prospecting for oil. In view of 
this close interrelation of geologic phenomena, therefore, the field 
geologist carefully records all the facts he observes in the course 
of his work, even though they appear to have no present bearing 
on the subject of land classification. 

SCIENTIFIC DATA. 

Data of interest at the present time chiefly to the scientist form 
another important " by-product " of the process of land classifica- 
tion. It is difficult, however, to select any group of facts as being 
of strictly scientific value alone, for new discoveries may at any time 
enlarge their significance and impart to them an unexpected economic 
importance. Many facts are, moreover, of equal interest to the 
pure scientist and to the engineer or the layman, so that while a 
great amount of scientific information has been collected in the work 
of land classification during the last six years, the purely economic 
value of much of it has already warranted the necessary expense. 

Many data concerning the areal extent of different geologic forma- 
tions have been gathered in the last few years and will be of use 
in connection with the geologic map of the United States which the 
Survey is now engaged in constructing. The stratigraphic relations 
of the formations, their composition, and their fossils constitute the 
only chronicle of conditions which have, at different times and divers 
places, existed on the earth. From this record some idea can be 
gained of the former geography of the country, of the great earth 
movements such as culminated in the formation of the Eocky Moun- 
tains, of the climatic conditions which formerly existed, and of the 
ancient plants and animals. These matters are at present chiefly 
of philosophic interest, but it has been by the accumulation of such 
facts in the past that science has been enabled to render valuable 
aid to mining and other industries. Furthermore., information of 
this kind, while perhaps of little present interest to the average lay- 
man, is of vital importance to the teachers of science in the univer- 
sities of the country. As a case in point may be mentioned the recent 
discovery, by a Survey geologist engaged in the classification of coal 



CLASSIFICATION IN RELATION" TO WATEK RESOURCES. 159 

lands in New Mexico, of a great unconformity which separates into 
two formations a great thickness of strata that had hitherto been 
considered as a unit. This discovery is important not only on account 
of its strictly scientific bearing, but because it indicates that high- 
grade coking coal occurs in rocks of comparatively recent (Eocene) 
age. 

It therefore appears that much important and diversified informa- 
tion is obtained in this way. Science is continually garnering facts 
against the time when their economic importance will appear, or 
when they may be correlated with other facts to furnish a broad 
hypothesis which may profoundly affect methods of prospecting or 
developing some mineral, such as oil. In addition, much local infor- 
mation of direct and immediate value to the mine operator or pros- 
pector is so gathered. Finally, the best obtainable record of the 
topography, water resources, and soils of the area examined is 
officially made. While the classification of public land is the im- 
mediate object of the work described in this bulletin, it is evident 
that such work, because of its exacting requirements as to accuracy 
and thoroughness, furnishes the best possible basis for valuable scien- 
tific generalizations. 

CLASSIFICATION IN RELATION TO WATER RESOURCES. 

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF WATER UTILIZATION. 

One of the most important factors in the development and use of 
the remaining public lands within the United States is water supply. 
The development of power, the extension of agriculture and grazing, 
the growth of mineral industries, transportation, and various other 
activities depend directly on the quantity and quality of the under- 
ground and surface waters in what is, generally speaking, an arid 
region. To dispose of or to administer the remaining public lands 
without reference to their water supply is to ignore that natural 
resource which will, perhaps more than any other, affect their future 
utilization. 

Water is unique among the mineral resources of the earth in that, 
within natural limits, its supply is continually replenished and is there- 
fore, in a large way, inexhaustible. That is to say, within the limits 
of the natural yield of a basin a certain minimum quantity of water 
will be available year after year in any river channel for irrigation, 
for city supply, or for power, as may be required. Aside from the 
inherent value of the water, the ownership of an important source 
of water supply becomes of the greatest consequence^ for such owner- 
ship carries with it a measure of control, for an indefinite time, of 
all industries dependent on that uarticular source. 



160 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

Statutes and court decisions both recognize that water should be 
devoted to its highest use, and the laws of many States provide for 
the condemnation of an inferior use in the interest of a higher one. 
Such laws generally recognize a municipal or domestic use of water 
as the highest which may be 'made, because of its necessity in the sup- 
port of life. Next in order comes the use of water in agriculture for 
irrigation, whereby the available food supply is affected. The use of 
water for power, though important and valuable, is inferior to either 
municipal use or use for irrigation and may, in general, be con- 
demned if necessary to insure higher utilization. The greatest value 
of a source of water supply at any particular time will depend, how- 
ever, on the demands for domestic or municipal use, on the proximity 
of a tract of arable land adapted to agriculture, and on the quantity 
of power that may be developed and the availability of a market 
for it. Such value may change with the development of the country, 
making necessary the abandonment of established industries in order 
that the water may be available to supply a greater need. Changes in 
use will, however, follow the economic law^ as the damage to estab- 
lished industries must be paid for, and to that extent the cost of the 
water for other use will be enhanced. 

Important conditions are inherent in the use of water for various 
purposes. Its use for power affects neither its quality nor its quan- 
tity, but its use for irrigation depletes its quantity and its municipal 
or domestic use not only depletes its quantity but impairs its quality. 
Various uses may be and in many places are compatible with one 
another. In other places the conflict in use may be only partial. 
Many of the most advantageous sites for developing power, which, un- 
der conditions of modern long-distance transmission, are not depend- 
ent on a near-by power market for their value, are located in the upper 
portions of river basins, where the slopes are steepest and where 
demands for other use are not likely to be made. Under such condi- 
tions the water may be utilized in a power plant or a series of power 
plants and still be available for other purposes by the sacrifice of 
only so much of the power head as may be necessary to obtain ade- 
quate pressure in the pipes of the city water mains or to maintain the 
elevation of canals required to cover irrigable lands. In similar 
manner water that has been used for a municipal supply may still 
be available, as sewage, for a certain amount of irrigation. The 
equalization of the stream flow in order to insure a continuous output 
of power will in general increase the value of the stream for munici- 
pal use. The use of water for irrigation, on the other hand, is limited 
to the growing season and requires the concentration of flow in ac- 
cordance with the needs of crops during that season. The complete 
utilization for irrigation of a stream whose flow has been equalized 
for power will make necessary storage below the power plant of the 



CLASSIFICATION IN RELATION TO WATEE RESOURCES. 161 

flow of the nonirrigation season in order to render it available for 
the irrigation of crops in the following growing season. The practi- 
cability of such storage and redistribution of flow will depend on 
local topography and must be determined for each locality. The con- 
ditions which affect the present and future practicable utilization of 
water are therefore very complicated, and the classification of land 
as regards its water resources is correspondingly difficult. 

In general the development and use of valuable power sites involves 
the construction of expensive systems for transmitting the power to 
distant markets and distributing it among small customers. A water- 
power development can be most fully utilized and therefore has its 
greatest value when connected into a system containing other hydro- 
electric or steam-power plants, because a large system will generally 
have relatively uniform power requirements on account of the varied 
use of the power and also a relatively flexible power output on ac- 
count of the steam plants and of the storage capacity which may be 
available in connection with some or all of the water-power plants. 
In view of these conditions the combination of power plants into big 
systems is natural and tends to more economical and more complete 
utilization of the power resources. As a duplication of such a power 
system in any territory is uneconomical and in general is impracti- 
cable, a monopoly of the power market results, and such monopoly, if 
subject to proper public control, should be encouraged. Monopolistic 
tendencies in the control of water resources entail difficulties and dan- 
gers that have been recognized by Congress, as manifested by the 
laws governing rights of way, especially for the purpose of develop- 
ing and transmitting power, on or across the public lands. 

The protection of the people against the possible bad effects of 
monopoly and the retention of control of the use of this important 
source of power, which may be expected to increase in value with the 
decrease in available fuels, is at present accomplished by the United 
States through ownership of the land which is required for the use 
of the water resources. Congress has provided no means for the 
alienation of power lands as such and has sanctioned their use for 
commercial purposes only under a limited permit revocable by the 
secretary of the department having jurisdiction. It provided for 
rights of way for power-transmission lines under the same law but 
by a later act has authorized a fixed tenure for a period not exceed- 
ing 50 years. 

CLASSIFICATION OF WATER-POWER SITES. 
PRELIMINARY WITHDRAWALS. 

The classification of lands as water-power sites and their reserva- 
tion under the acts authorizing withdrawals is in general first made 
in the absence of detailed examination to determine power value and 
78894°— BuU. 537—13 11 



162 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

is of a preliminary or tentative character. Examination in the field 
provides a satisfactory basis for final classification and adjustment of 
withdrawals. The following paragraphs relate more particularly 
to preliminary classification and withdrawal but describe also the 
routine procedure followed and records prepared in all withdrawals 
for power-site purposes. 

The principal steps taken in connection with the making of power- 
site and reservoir withdrawals are as follows: 

1. Initiation of search for possible power or reservoir sites. The 
possibility of the existence of valuable power resources is brought 
to the attention of those charged with the duty of recommending 
withdrawals through general probability that such sites may exist, 
through requests for report on the possibility of there being such 
sites, or through information as to the possible existence of such sites 
derived from reports of field employees of the Geological Survey or 
other offices, from news items, from newly published maps, from the 
filing of applications for rights of way, and from other sources. 

In general the initiative in the premises is taken by the Geological 
Survey, but it not infrequently occurs that some power company 
intending to make surveys for a hydro-electric development in 
new territory requests the withdrawal of the lands likely to be 
occupied. The purpose served by withdrawal of such lands is two- 
fold. The valuable power sites that might otherwise be alienated 
as nonmetalliferous claims, timber and stone entries, agricultural 
entries, or for some other purpose, are retained in public ownership, 
and the company or person eventually developing the resource, pre- 
sumably but by no means necessarily the one who requested the 
withdrawal, is protected from the intervention of other rights and 
has merely to acquire the necessary rights from the United States 
instead of from the United States and a host of persons who might 
otherwise have succeeded to ownership of the land. 

2. Estimation of character and value of probable development and 
approximate description of the lands under consideration. This step 
involves an examination of existing data on stream flow and rainfall, 
as well as of maps, engineering reports, and all other available sources 
of information. In some cases information definite and conclusive 
in character may be brought to light. On the other hand, it fre- 
quently happens that estimates of stream flow must be based on 
nothing more reliable than conditions of run-off in basins many miles 
distant and that estimates of available head for power development 
must be derived from elevations at scattered points culled from rail- 
road folders and similar data of doubtful applicability. 

3. Examination of status of lands and definite description of lands 
to be included in the order of withdrawal. The lands presumed to 
be valuable for power or reservoir sites are platted on township plats 






CLASSIFICATION IN RELATION TO WATER RESOURCES. 163 

of the public survey or tracings of them, and the status of the lands 
as to oAvnership is ascertained by examination of the records of the 
General Land Office and indicated on the township plats or tracings. 
All patented lands are eliminated from further consideration. Lands 
which are covered by location or entry but title to which still remains 
in the United States are included in withdrawals to the end that the 
order of withdrawal may become effective if for any reason the lands 
do not proceed to patent. Such withdrawal in no way affects the 
rights of an entryman who proceeds with the acquisition of his claim 
in accordance with the law, but it immediately becomes operative in 
case the claim is abandoned or for any reason becomes invalid. 

Definite description of the surveyed lands to be withdrawn is made 
by legal subdivisions in conformity with the official survey. Unsur- 
veyed lands are described by townships and some lands in town- 
ships that are partly surveyed by sections, in accordance with the 
probable protraction of the public survey; also by distance from the 
stream or streams having value as a source of power, in some such 
phrase as " all land within half a mile of Snake Eiver." 

All withdrawals are so made as to include the least area that will 
effectively protect the resources involved. Where data are meager or 
defective the withdrawals are at first necessarily of relatively great 
extent but are eventually reduced as more definite and reliable data 
are acquired. The area of the land to be withdrawn in each town- 
ship is compiled from the plats of the public survey, or estimated for 
unsurveyed lands, and the total area of the withdrawal is computed. 

4. Preparation of order of withdrawal. The draft of a formal 
order of withdrawal is next prepared, together with a letter to the 
Secretary of the Interior transmitting the order and recommending 
its approval. On approval by the Secretary of the Interior orders 
of withdrawal are transmitted to the President for his consideration 
and become effective on his approval. The following order is typical 
of the present form of withdrawals under the acts of June 25, 1910 
(36 Stat., 847), and August 24, 1912 (37 Stat, 497) : 

Department of the Interior, 

United States Geological Survey, 

October 12, 1912. 
The honorable the Secretary of the Interior. 

Sir: In accordance with your general instruction, I recommend the with- 
drawal for water-power sites of the following areas, involving 240 acres. This 
order of withdrawal includes no lands covered by enlarged-homestead designa- 
tions. 

Very respectfully. Geo. Otis Smith, 

Director. 

October 19, 1912. 
Respectfully referred to the President with favorable recommendation. 

Samuel Adams, 
Acting Secretary. 



164 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

Order of Withdrawal. 

Power-Site Reserve No. 299. 

Mill Creek, California. 

Under and pursuant to the provisions of the act of Congress approved June 
25, 1910 (36 Stat., 847), entitled "An act to authorize the President of the 
United States to make withdrawals of public lands in certain cases," as amended 
by the act of Congress approved August 24, 1912 (37 Stat., 497), it is hereby 
ordered that the following described lands be, and the same are hereby, with- 
drawn from settlement, location, sale, or entry and reserved for water-power 
sites : 

Mount Diablo meridian. 

T. 26 N., R. 1 W., sec. 24, SB. J of SE. \ ; 

sec. 26, SE. \ of NE. i, SW. \ of NW. \, NW. i of SW. I ; 
sec. 32, S. i of SW. h 

Wm. H. Taft, 
October 18, 1912. President. 

Orders of withdrawal affecting lands within Indian reservations, 
made under sections 13 and 14 of the act of June 25, 1910 (36 Stat., 
855, 858), are forwarded to the Secretary of the Interior through the 
Office of Indian Affairs. The following order illustrates the form in 
which such withdrawals are now made: 

Department of the Interior, 

United States Geological Survey, 

Washington, May 23, 1912. 
The honorable the Secretary of the Interior 

(through the Commissioner of Indian Affairs). 
Sir: In accordance with your general instructions, I recommend the with- 
drawal for water-power sites of the following areas, involving approximately 
6,817 acres (in the Blackfeet Indian Keservation). 

Very respectfully, H. C. Rizer, 

Acting Director. 

June 18, 1912. 
I concur in the above recommendation. 

R. G. Valentine, 
Commissioner of Indian Affairs. 

Order of Withdrawal. 

Power-Site Reserve No. 275. 

St. Mary River Tributaries, Montana. 

It is hereby ordered that the following described lands, valuable for power 
sites, be, and the same are hereby, reserved from location, entry, sale, allot- 
ment, or other appropriation in accordance with the provisions of the act ap- 
proved June 25, 1910 (36 Stat., 855), and that no trust or fee-simple patent be 
issued as regards these lands until further orders: 



CLASSIFICATION IN RELATION TO WATER RESOURCES. 165 
Montana meridian. 

[Description of lands.] 

Samuel Adams, 
June 22, 1912. First Assistant Secretary. 

Withdrawals of this form receive the concurrence of the Commis- 
sioner of Indian Affairs before being forwarded to the Secretary of 
the Interior and become effective on approval by the Secretary, no 
action by the President being contemplated by the law. 

Copies of approved orders of withdrawal are furnished to the 
Geological Survey, to the Office of Indian Affairs if affecting Indian 
lands, and to the General Land Office, and notification thereof is sent 
to the local land office of each district in which the reserved lands are 
located. Notation of the withdrawal is thereupon made on the tract 
records of the General and local land offices. Thereafter entries 
inconsistent with the purpose of the withdrawal, except under the 
mining laws pertaining to metalliferous minerals, are rejected. Modi- 
fications of a withdrawal may, however, be made to permit the allow- 
ance of an application that will subserve the purpose of the with- 
drawal or that involves a more beneficial use of the land than could 
be had under the purpose of the withdrawal. Withdrawals therefore 
in no way interfere with the proper development of the resources 
involved but tend toward their most complete and beneficial 
utilization. 

5. Preparation of minutes. At the time each order of withdrawal 
is prepared minutes are written setting forth the object sought to be 
attained by the withdrawal, the extent and value of the resources 
involved, the data on which the withdrawal is based, and other perti- 
nent facts. Orders of withdrawal are numbered consecutively in 
chronologic order, and successive withdrawals on any stream are also 
given consecutive numbers in connection with the stream name. The 
various sets of minutes for withdrawals on any stream therefore con- 
stitute a concise statement of its value for power or reservoir sites 
and of the data relating thereto. 

6. Office records. When notice of the approval of an order of with- 
drawal is received at the Survey, the withdrawn area is plotted and 
numbered on a General Land Office State map. A township card is 
prepared for each township affected, showing the location of the 
stream and indicating the legal subdivisions withdrawn and the 
number of the withdrawal. If more than one withdrawal is made in 
a township, the card is prepared so as to show the withdrawals sepa- 
rately and constitutes a graphic record of all withdrawals and restora- 
tions of withdrawn lands. The numbers and dates of recommenda- 
tion and approval of all power-site withdrawals and restorations 



166 



CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 



involved are tabulated on the back of the card. The front of a typical 
township card is shown in figure 8. 

In a ledger kept for withdrawals and restorations are noted, when 
the order is prepared, the number and area of the withdrawal or 
restoration and the date of the recommendation of the Geological 
Survey. The date of approval is also noted in the ledger when the 
copy of the approved order is received. 










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Figure 8. — Typical township card illustrating action taken by United States Geological 

Survey on power sites. 

The complete record of the Survey relating to a power-site with- 
drawal consists of the following items: 

(a) Order of withdrawal, filed by withdrawal number and therefore chrono- 
logically. 

(&) Minutes, filed by number of withdrawal and therefore chronologically. 

(c) Township plats showing status of lands as to ownership, filed in binders 
by number of withdrawal and arranged by principal meridian, range, and 
township. 



CLASSIFICATION IN KELATION TO WATER RESOURCES. 167 

(d) Township cards showing the extent and date of withdrawals and restora- 
tions, filed by States and arranged by principal meridian, range, and township. 

(e) Mounted State map on which withdrawals and restorations are platted. 
(/) Withdrawal ledger in which is kept a chronologic record of withdrawals 

and restorations showing the number, area, date of recommendation, and date 
of approval. 

METHODS OF FIELD EXAMINATION. 
DIVEKSITY OF CONDITIONS. 

The examination of lands and conditions along any stream for the 
purpose of locating a feasible power site is a fairly common and 
well-defined engineering operation. The examination of lands and 
conditions for the purpose of classifying the lands according to 
" power value," as the expression is interpreted in this bulletin, is 
quite another matter. In the first case, the effort is made to locate 
one or more sites that appear best adapted for development under 
the prescribed conditions of cost and prospective market which 
prevail at that particular time. The study is concentrated on the 
lands that will be involved in that particular development. In the 
second case, all the lands in public ownership adjoining or near the 
stream are presented for consideration, and the problem is to deter- 
mine whether any or all of these lands could be used in the develop- 
ment of any feasible power site. Moreover, the feasibility can not 
be settled on the basis of present limitations of development but 
must be determined according to what are believed to be the limi- 
tations of a future day, when water power will be a more vital factor 
in our economy than it is now and when, by reason of increased 
demand, a development whose unit cost would now be too great 
would become thoroughly practicable. Power sites are classified 
according to their future possible utility as well as according to 
their present value. 

There are other features which still further broaden the scope of 
an investigation of the kind here described. It is necessary to de- 
termine whether the lands examined may not be more beneficially 
devoted to the use of water for domestic supply or for irrigation 
than for power, and whether their use for power may not be preju- 
dicial to the other uses at the site in question or at some other site 
more or less remote. 

It must also be determined in many cases whether the land itself, 
irrespective of any distant lands which may be served, is of more 
value for agriculture or as a town or manufacturing site than as a 
power site. Such a consideration applies especially to lands that 
may be suitable for storage reservoirs. Usually the civic, industrial, 
or rural improvements that have previously been made in a reservoir 
site largely control the decision on this point, but the cases in which 
such influences are absent are still relatively frequent. Therefore 



168 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

the field of investigation again spreads beyond the actualities of the 
present and an estimate of prospective events must be made. 

Finally, it must not be forgotten that human activities are not 
confined to the utilization of water — that a community which pro- 
duces must, if its products are of value, have suitable means of 
transportation. Therefore it frequently occurs that consideration 
must be given to the relative usefulness of a piece of land as a power 
site or as a right of way for a railroad. In some places the bottom 
of a canyon that is suitable for power development or a basin that 
is suitable for a reservoir is also an advantageous railroad route. 
Although it is usually possible to locate an alternate railroad route, 
the cost of utilizing it may be so great as to outweigh the advantages 
that may accrue from development of power along the stream. It 
is thus necessary to appraise the relative values and comparative 
costs and choose the course that is or is likely to become of the 
highest human benefit. 

The classification of lands for water-power sites therefore requires 
a broad perspective, and it comprehends the study of so many variable 
conditions and prospective changes in public demand that mistakes 
are easily made and mature consideration is always necessary. Field 
examination naturally falls into two classes. The first is recon- 
naissance, made in response to urgency. The second is final and de- 
tailed and involves all the precision of instrumental work and the 
careful deductions made possible thereby. 

RECONNAISSANCE EXAMINATION. 

A suitable report on a water-power site classification should cover 
as many of the subjects listed in the following syllabus as may be 
relevant : 

I. Sources of data used in report : 

1. Personal examination — route followed and time consumed. 

2. Water-supply papers. 

3. Maps. 

4. Reports of engineers. 

5. Miscellaneous. 

II. General introductory description, including location as to State, rivers, 
cities, township, and range. 

III. Description of the power developments and possibilities on the river, 

showing by sketch on best available maps location of dams, power 
canals, and power houses already constructed and possible location of 
these essential features for other power developments. Ownership 
of plants already constructed and use made of the power. 

IV. Physical characteristics: 

1. Topography at dam site. 

2. Relation of tract to a possible power development described under 

III above. 

3. Head available, how secured, whether by dam or by dam and canal. 

4. Character of dam sites, holding ground for canals, and site for power 

house. 



CLASSIFICATION IN RELATION TO WATER RESOURCES. 169 

V. Water supply: 

1. General description of drainage area. 

2. Actual records if available, showing niaximuni, minimum, and mean 

discharge for each month, also absolute seven-day minimum for 
the year. 

3. Storage already developed. 

4. Storage possibilities : 

(a) Location of reservoir sites. 

(&) Height of dam. 

(c) Capacity of reservoir. 

5. Prior water rights above and below power site. 

6. Ice conditions during winter months : 

(a) Without storage. 
(6) With storage. 
VI. Possible power development : 

1. Horsepower at wheel shaft (without storage). 

2. Horsepower at wheel shaft (with storage). 
VII. Cost of power development: 

1. Cost of diversion or forebay dam. 

2. Cost of canals. 

3. Approximate cost of complete installation per horsepower devel- 

oped: 
(a) Without storage. 
(6) With storage. 
VIII. Market for power: 

1. Present. 

2. Future. 

3. Length of transmission lines, etc. 
IX. Suggestions and recommendations : 

1. Relative to lands withdrawn. 

2. Relative to other public land which has or may have value for devel- 

opment or transmission of power. 
X. Appendixes : 

1. Water-supply records. 

2. Maps. 

3. Pictures. 

Before entering upon field work the hydraulic engineer should 
collect all available topographic and hydrometric data relating to 
the stream under investigation. For many streams the topographic 
data may be obtained from the United States Geological Survey 
topographic sheets, the United States Land Office township plats, 
countjr and other maps, or railroad location surveys and profiles. 
Study should also be made of the precipitation records collected by the 
United States Weather Bureau and the river-discharge records made 
by the United States Geological Survey and by private citizens. 
After obtaining in advance as much information as may be available, 
the engineer proceeds to the field. His instrumental equipment 
usually consists of hand level, steel tape, aneroid barometer, com- 
pass with sight alidade, and camera. In some investigations it is nec- 
essary to carry a current meter. These instruments and the notes, 
maps, and other data procured in advance, together with a map or de- 



170 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

scription of the locations of the public land along the stream valley, 
constitute the working equipment. The engineer travels by wagon, 
on horseback with pack outfit, by boat, or on foot, as the conditions 
may require, and his personal equipment is made appropriate to 
the conditions. 

The engineer, after examining all the lands in the stream valley 
and studying the relation of the critical features to the public lands, 
constructs what may be called a mental picture of the situation in 
its most productive condition of water-power development. He also 
works out the variations which might be made in his plan of de- 
velopment, knowing well that no other engineer covering the same 
ground independently would conceive the identical plan of develop- 
ment that he would. It is even necessary for the engineer to con- 
sider plans and possibilities that may appear to him impracticable 
or fantastic, for the serious proposal of such plans is a frequent 
occurrence in the routine experience of the department, and a rela- 
tively superficial glance over the country gives evidence that many 
such plans have been put into effect. Especially is it necessary for 
the engineer to gather local information concerning proposed de- 
velopments of all kinds and to obtain as many working details of 
such developments as may be possible. To this end it is frequently 
essential to follow up rumors of prospective development. Although 
most of these rumors may prove inconsequential, they now and then 
lead to information whose importance fully compensates for the 
time spent on rumors that have no basis in fact. 

If the engineer's investigations show that the slope of a river 
along a certain section affords a working head which, in connection 
with the known or supposed flow of the stream, indicates the possi- 
bility of a power site, he determines in a rough way the method or 
methods by which that site may be utilized. It is unnecessary for 
him to make final location surveys, because the fact that the power 
site exists is usually sufficient for the purposes at hand. The 
particular method of development will eventually be determined 
largely by the state of the science at the time the development is to 
be made. It is recognized that the details of location and •equipment 
depend on the progress attained at the time of construction. We 
know, for example, of many old developments which if constructed 
to-day would be of an entirely different type. 

The standards of capacity which warrant the withdrawal of public 
lands for power sites vary with the location, and in many cases the 
decision rests largely on the abundance of power sites in the imme- 
diate region. A stretch of river having a fall of 10 feet to the mile 
may, in regions where power sites are not abundant, be worthy of 
withdrawal, whereas a similar stretch in a region abundantly sup- 
plied with sites of greater capacity may not be of sufficient im- 



CLASSIFICATION IN RELATION TO WATER RESOURCES. 171 

portance for departmental action. The determination of the proper 
course is difficult, for the question of feasibility must be partly an- 
swered with regard to future conditions. All the factors discussed 
in the beginning of this section, such as domestic water supply, irri- 
gation, and transportation, must be borne in mind, and it is impera- 
tive that the engineer remember the fact that Government control of 
a small amount of land may be quite as effectual in the ultimate 
control of the development at the power site as if every element of 
that site were in public ownership. A small tract of land, even a 
fractional subdivision, located within a storage-reservoir site or 
along a diversion right of way has been sufficient to determine the 
control of the development. Having reached a decision on all the 
points above discussed, the engineer makes appropriate report. 

Detailed surveys are not attempted in reconnaissance work. Ap- 
proximate cross sections are taken at possible dam sites and, after 
the most feasible height of the dam is determined, a rough estimate 
of the area that would be submerged is made by means of the hand 
level. Where no profile of the stream channel is available, the fall 
over a short distance is determined with an aneroid barometer. This 
instrument, however, must be used with caution, especially during 
changeable weather. Photographs of all the critical points are 
taken. The possible dam sites suitable for storage or for diversion 
having been located and the type of development roughly determined, 
it is then necessary to consider the run-off. If the problem is one of 
storage, it will be sufficient to know the approximate mean annual 
run-off; the height of the storage dam can then be so fixed that the 
capacity of the reservoir may, as nearly as practicable, be sufficient 
to afford complete control. Of course, as a rule, sufficient storage 
capacity is not available, yet on the other hand there are situations 
in which the dam might be raised to a height that would give greater 
storage capacity than is necessary. In case no storage is to be pro- 
vided, the mean daily flow of the stream must, if possible, be deter- 
mined in order that the primary power capacity of the site may be 
appraised. If the available site is located in a canyon, it becomes 
necessary to determine within reasonable limits whether the maxi- 
mum fall may be secured by a low diversion dam and conduits or 
whether it would be more economical to obtain the necessary height 
by the construction of a high dam. 

Much of the land along the streams of the West has passed into 
private ownership, and where good facilities exist for the develop- 
ment of water power or the diversion of water for irrigation private 
interests may have established rights to the use of the water. An- 
other complication on many streams consists in the location of rail- 
road rights of way. Thus the problem of land classification may be 



172 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

greatly complicated, and considerable thought and good judgment 
are required to determine on a plan whereby the stream may be uti- 
lized to a reasonable capacity and the vested rights already acquired 
by private owners may not be violated. Many of the power plants 
already installed use only a small percentage of the maximum avail- 
able power. In such cases either the plans for ultimate maximum 
power development involve the utilization and enlargement or im- 
provement of such plants or they are omitted from consideration, it 
being assumed that when the demand for power increases to a certain 
point ordinary commercial procedure will settle all questions relative 
to the destiny of power plants in operation. 

In case a railroad is already constructed parallel to the stream, 
plans for immediate development must avoid any interference with 
the railroad rights. Few plans that would require relocation of rail- 
roads are feasible under present market conditions, but the future 
demand for power will probably change the aspect of the case, and 
on this account the problem is treated as if the railroad did not exist, 
it being assumed that whenever the demand for power is sufficient to 
justify the expense of railroad relocation the power will be de- 
veloped. It is quite as desirable to provide means for future control 
by the Government in such an event as it is to provide such control 
in situations where no complications of this kind exist. Therefore, 
an important part of the field work consists in the determination of 
possible relocations, so that in fixing the value of any land reserved 
for a power site the department may have information whereby it 
can render an opinion as to the possibility and cost of relocating such 
lines as are already constructed or as to the feasibility of requiring 
the relocation of rights of way for which application may subse- 
quently be made. 

DETAILED FIELD INVESTIGATIONS. 

Investigations of detailed character are made to obtain data for 
final departmental action. The statements in the preceding section 
indicate that the chief object of the reconnaissance work is to locate 
lands suitable for power sites. The capacity of the power sites is 
determined in connection with such work largely for the purpose 
of justifying the preliminary withdrawal of the lands from entry. 
Incidental information of a more or less final character is collected 
during the reconnaissance examination, for the most part with a 
view to convenience and economy in the final detailed surveys. The 
withdrawals of lands for power sites on the basis of a reconnaissance 
examination are usually made liberal in extent, the purpose being to 
restore to entry any of the legal subdivisions which on detailed sur- 
vey prove to be of no value in connection with the plans finally 



CLASSIFICATION IN" EELATION TO WATEB KESOUKCES. 173 

adopted. The detailed investigation consists of surveys to determine 
river profiles, surveys of reservoir site, soundings at dam sites and 
other places, and a more or less careful examination of the charac- 
ter of the underlying formations that must serve as foundations, 
especially for dams. In addition, it is necessary to establish river 
gaging stations, if none have already been established, for the pur- 
pose of determining, with a high degree of accuracy, the amount of 
water discharged by the river, so that the economic capacity of the 
reservoirs and power plants may be determined. 

The gaging stations are selected, equipped, and maintained ac- 
cording to the standard methods followed by the United States 
Geological Survey in its regular hydrometric work. The processes 
are fully described in the annual progress reports on investigations 
of stream flow published by the Survey. 

The investigation of dam sites for the purpose of determining 
the security of the underlying formations that must serve as founda- 
tions has, up to the present time, been based largely on general geo- 
logic information concerning the holding qualities of the forma- 
tions known to exist in the localities examined. Final work of this 
character, none of which has been attempted in connection with the 
classification of water-power sites, will consist of the usual soundings 
and borings to determine the depth of the holding material, its 
permeability, its strength, and all the other factors that enter into 
its suitability for foundations. 

Special river surveys delineating the alinement and water-surface 
contours of streams and the topography of the adjacent land are 
made on a scale of 2 inches to the mile by the plane-table and stadia 
method. The survey maps are accompanied by profiles showing 
clearly the stream gradient. The contour interval on water surfaces 
is usually taken as 5 feet but may be increased to 25 or even to 100 
feet for sections of steep slope where the delineation of a lesser in- 
terval could not be clearly made. The topography of the land adja- 
cent to the stream is shown by a contour interval of 25 feet and in 
general is carried to an elevation 100 feet above the stream by survey 
and an additional 100 feet by sketching. General features of cul- 
ture, gaging stations, existing hydraulic works, all lines of land sub- 
divisions by public survey, and other relevant data are shown on 
these maps. Promising reservoir and dam sites are shown with con- 
tour intervals of 5 feet to an elevation equal to the height of the 
possible dam. 

Engineers executing these surveys are instructed to obtain and 
furnish to the Washington office all available data as to the water 
resources involved, supplementing the data shown on the maps by 
detailed description of existing or proposed developments. 



174 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

COMPILATION OF RESULTS AND REVISION OF WITHDRAWALS. 

When results of field investigation are available, much the same 
procedure is followed in the office in revising withdrawals as in 
making the preliminary withdrawals. The problem at this stage 
becomes one of limiting the withdrawals to the least possible area. 
Careful scrutiny of plans and profiles of the streams makes it pos- 
sible to determine the power value of each smallest legal subdivision, 
and withdrawn areas containing no sites that are or may be valuable 
for the development of power are restored to the public domain. If 
the stream is of relatively flat gradient, where power development 
must be restricted to the low-head type and the construction will 
consist of power houses in conjunction with dams developing the 
available head, it is possible in many cases to locate definitely the 
favorable dam sites and divide the stream into successive units of 
probable development, from which no very great departure in con- 
struction is likely. On such streams the power-site reserves can be 
defined with a high degree of accuracy, and the use of each tract, 
whether for dam site, power-house site, flowage, or other purpose, 
can be forecast with considerable assurance. A minimum area of 
land is retained in power-site reserves on such streams. If the 
stream has a relatively steep gradient, however, where the natural 
development for power will consist of a low diversion dam and a 
long conduit leading to a power house perhaps several miles below 
and developing a high effective head, there can be a wide range of 
selection for the units of a comprehensive power project. On such 
a stream no specially favorable dam site is necessary, and relative 
expense of construction is generally the factor determining a choice 
among several different locations for the conduit. A definite use for 
any particular tract can seldom be assigned with development of this 
type, and the power-site reserve must be maintained so as to include 
all possible conduit locations if it is to be effective. A final revision 
of withdrawals along such a stream must be made as the power sites 
are developed. Even in such cases, however, restorations are fre- 
quently possible as soon as field examinations are made. 

Kestorations are recommended by the Survey and recorded in the 
Survey files in much the same way as withdrawals. The usual form 
of power-site restoration is as follows : 

Department of the Interior, 

United States Geological Survey, 

Washington, November 12, 1912. 
The honorable the Secretary of the Interior. 

Sir: Investigation of lands included in power-site reserve No. 117, Snake 
River, Idaho, indicates that the portion of the lands included therein described 
In the following order of restoration is not valuable for the conservation of 



CLASSIFICATION IN EELATION TO WATER RESOURCES. 175 

water power, and I therefore recommend that the said order of restoration be 
submitted to the President for appropriate action. The area involved in this 
restoration is 85.7 acres. 

Very respectfully, Geo. Otis Smith, 

Director. 

December 3, 1912. 
Respectfully referred to the President with favorable recommendation. 

Walter L. Fisher, 

Secretary. 

Order of Restoration No. 82. 

Snake River, Idaho. 

So much of the orders of withdrawal made heretofore for the purpose of re- 
serving water-power sites as affects the lands hereinafter described is hereby 
revoked. 

And it is further ordered that all of such lands not otherwise reserved or 
withdrawn are hereby restored to the public domain and shall become subject to 
settlement and entry under the laws applicable thereto upon such date and 
after such notice as may be determined upon by the Secretary of the Interior. 

Boise meridian. 

T. 5 S., R. 4 E., sec. 30. lot 6; 

sec. 32, lots 7 and 8. 

Wm. H. Taft, 
December 3, 1912. President. 

ADVERSE CLAIMS. 

In many cases there is a conflict between the purposes of a power- 
site reserve and of some other claim to or proposed use of the lands 
affected. There is at present no satisfactory law under which land 
withdrawn for power purposes under the acts of June 25, 1910 (36 
Stat, 847), and August 24, 1912 (37 Stat,, 497), can be used for 
other purposes without jeopardizing the interest of the United States 
in the power possibilities. Under the acts relating to rights of way 
title to land by legal subdivisions is not granted and, as described 
elsewhere (p. 28), the interest of the United States may be preserved. 
Under the laws relating to agricultural land and mining, however, 
title to the land embraced in entries or claims passes from the United 
States and there appears to be no way in which the power estate may 
be satisfactorily reserved. Relative priority of reserve and claim, 
special exceptions, and relative value are the principles that govern 
in adjudicating the conflict. A power-site withdrawal is of no 
effect as against bona fide metalliferous mineral claims, without re- 
gard to priority of initiation. A power-site withdrawal is without 
effect as against a prior occupant or claimant of oil or gas lands who 
is diligently prosecuting work leading to discovery, but it becomes 
immediately effective against such occupant or claimant if diligent 



176 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

prosecution of work leading to discovery is discontinued. A power- 
site withdrawal is without effect as against a valid subsisting home- 
stead or desert-land entry or claim of valid settlement so long as it is 
maintained and perfected pursuant to law, but the withdrawal be- 
comes effective whenever the entryman or settler no longer continues 
to comply with the law under which the entry or settlement was 
made. With the foregoing exceptions, a power-site withdrawal 
under the acts of June 25, 1910, and August 24, 1912, is effective 
against all claims or entries on which rights have not vested prior to 
the date of the withdrawal. 

Withdrawn lands having valuable possibilities for the develop- 
ment of power are alienated in the usual way if they are included 
in the excepted classes described above, although possibly the claims 
for such lands are subjected to a more careful scrutiny. If it ap- 
pears that the claimant is attempting to obtain title to land because 
of its value for power, and if its power value is greater than its 
value for the alleged purpose of the claim, patent may be refused 
and the entry canceled. Cases of this nature arise most frequently 
in connection with metalliferous mineral entries, although not a 
few power sites have been homesteaded or acquired under the timber 
and stone law. 

In the case of claims against which a power-site withdrawal is 
effective, a most unfortunate situation occasionally arises. For ex- 
ample, title to land may be sought by the application of scrip, and 
the claim may be initiated in advance of a power-site withdrawal. 
The claimant may have expended considerable sums in improve- 
ment and cultivation and have proceeded throughout in good faith. 
Nevertheless, the land sought to be acquired may be worth for power 
many times its agricultural value, and when this dominant power 
value is ascertained the land is naturally included in a power-site 
reserve. In such cases it is always a grave question whether the 
public interest is best served by the defeat or confirmation of the 
claim. Under the strict rule of the law the claimant has no rights 
in the case. No provision of law makes it possible to give him 
agricultural rights and reserve to the United States the rights of 
power development. Unless, therefore, the value of the land for 
the development of power is so great as to demand reservation for 
that purpose, public interest appears to sanction the claim of the 
individual as against that of the Nation, and elimination of the land 
from the power-site reserve is recommended 

NONPOWER CLASSIFICATION. 

In connection with the office studies incident to the report on the 
power-site possibilities of lands embraced in subsisting claims and 
with the investigation of power sites a mass of information is 



CLASSIFICATION IN RELATION TO WATER RESOURCES. 177 

gradually being accumulated. This information is of negative as 
well as of positive character and shows where power sites are not 
located as well as where they are located. For convenience in mak- 
ing later reports on adjacent areas, this information is summarized 
from time to time and State maps are prepared showing the lands 
that are of no value for power development. This essentially con- 
stitutes a negative power classification and the use of such maps 
greatly facilitates the future work. In connection with these maps 
minutes are prepared in which are set forth the data on which the 
classification is based and the conclusions drawn therefrom. 

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS TO MAKE POWER CLASSIFICATION EFFECTIVE. 

In order that the classification of land as chiefly valuable for 
the development of power may be made effective, it appears desirable 
that there be additional legislation providing for the control and 
utilization of land so classified under such conditions and regula- 
tions as Congress may decide to be necessary and for the proper 
administration of such land if, as now seems desirable, the title is 
to be retained in the United States. 

As a feature, or perhaps as a preliminary step in such legislation, 
a " separation act " would be desirable, providing for the disposition 
of power and agricultural estates independently of each other in a 
manner similar to that now provided for coal land and for oil and 
gas land in Utah. Such independent disposition of these estates is 
believed to be entirely feasible, because, except where reservoirs are 
provided, the land actually occupied by a power plant constitutes 
only a small part of the legal subdivisions on which the dam, flowage, 
water conduits, power house, and transmission lines are located. The 
bulk of the land is available for agricultural or other use and may be 
largely so utilized without detriment to the power development. 

The alienation of the agricultural estate and the retention of the 
water-power estate in any land, with provision for payment of 
proper damages to the agricultural estate when the power is devel- 
oped, appears to be practicable and desirable in the interest of the 
orderly development of the natural resources involved. In fact, a 
separation of estates and a disposition of each estate as such appear 
to be desirable, even though it may be decided not to retain control 
by the United States of the water-power estate. 

Whether or not a law providing for separation of the power estate 
is enacted, laws providing for the development of power on public 
land under such conditions that the industry would be materially 
encouraged and capital attracted would be most beneficial. The true 
purpose of power-site withdrawals is the use of valuable power lands 
primarily for developing power, not the withholding of such lands 
78894°— Bull. 537—13 12 



178 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

from any use. It is true that withdrawn lands are now available 
for use under the right of way acts, but they can be used for power de- 
velopment only under a permit revocable at will. Such a method is 
hopelessly inadequate and tends to discourage development. Eecom- 
mendations for additional legislation have been repeatedly made by 
the department, and several very satisfactory bills have been intro- 
duced in Congress, but so far no suitable laws have been enacted. 

CLASSIFICATION OF LANDS AS REGARDS IRRIGABILITY. 

FIELD METHODS. 

GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 

The general considerations and particular features already dis- 
cussed under " Classification of power sites " apply to the classifi- 
cation with respect to irrigability. They include determination of 
the relative value of water in its different uses and, in the case of 
reservoirs and headworks, the value of the land for other purposes. 
The field of investigation must be quite as broad and comprehensive 
for this purpose as for the classification of water-power sites. The 
engineer who performs the investigation is required to equip him- 
self with the preliminary facts available in the office, such as maps 
and records of stream flow, and his instrumental equipment is prac- 
tically the same as that already described. 

A suitable report on the classification of lands as regards irriga- 
bility should cover as many of the subjects listed in the following 
sjdlabus as may be relevant : 

I. Sources of data used in report : 

1. Personal examination; route followed and time consumed. 

2. Water-supply papers. 

3. Maps. 

4. Reports of engineers. 

5. Miscellaneous. 

II. General introductory description: 

1. Name of project. 

2. Where located. 

3. When started. 

4. Estimated time of completion. 

5. Concise description of project, including — 

(a) Area involved. 

(&) Source of water supply. 

(c) Outline of irrigation system. 

(d) Important or critical structures involved. 

6. Nature and extent of control of the lands : 

(a) Carey Act. 

(&) Municipal district. 

(c) Ownership by developing company. 

(d) Contracts with land owners. 

(e) Contracts with desert-land or homestead entry men who have 

no titles. 

7. Railroad and other transportation facilities. 



CLASSIFICATION IN RELATION TO WATER RESOURCES. 179 

III. Rights of way : 

1. Ownership and extent of those already secured. 

2. Applicants for those pending. 

3. Additional, across public lands, needed for the complete project 

IV. The lands: 

1. Topography. 

2. Geology. 

3. Vegetation. 

4. Soil: 

(a) Soil analysis. 
(6) Depth of soil. 
(c) Depth to impervious strata. 

5. Drainage. 
V. Climatology: 

1. Temperature. 

2. Precipitation. 
VI. Crops: 

1. Kind of crops. 

2. Probable markets. 

3. Transportation to markets, 
VII. Value of lands : 

1. Without irrigation. 

2. Unimproved, but under ditch. 

3. Improved and irrigated. 
VIII. Water supply : 

1. Source of supply : 

(a) Discussion of stream. 

(&) Discussion of drainage basin. ■ 

(c) Stream-flow measurements. 

(d) Storage already developed. 

(e) Other storage possibilities. 

2. Rights in water : 

( a ) Amount and date of water filing. 

(&) Prior rights, adjudicated and unadjudicated. 

3. Amount of water available for project. 

4. Duty of water. 

5. Amount of land that can be irrigated. 
IX. Character of irrigation works: 

1. Storage dam. 

2. Location. 

3. General description. 

4. Type of dam, material, etc. 

5. Outlet tunnel. 

6. Area of reservoir. 

7. Capacity of reservoir in acre-feet. 

8. Diversion dam : 

(a) Location. 

(&) Type of dam, material, etc. 

(c) Size of dam. 

9. Pumping: 

(a) Source, kind, and cost of power. 
(&) Lift. 



180 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

(c) Motors: 

(a) Number and kind. 

(b) Capacity of each. 

(d) Pumps: 

(a) Number and kind. 

(b) Capacity of each. 

(e) Station equipment. 
(/) Transmission line. 
(g) Buildings. 

(h) Pipe lines: 

(a) Kind, size, and capacity. 

(b) Thickness of material. 

(c) Length. 
(i) Receiving basins. 

X. Canals: 

1. Size. 

2. Grade. 

3. Capacity. 

4. Slopes. 

5. Wasteways. 

6. Drops. 

7. Lateral systems. 

8. Flumes: 

(a) Kind (wood, metal, or concrete). 

(6) Size. 

(c) Grade. 

(d) Capacity. 

(e) Carrier. 

(/) Foundation. 

(g) Description of construction. 

9. Tunnels: 

(a) Length. 
(6) Size. 

10. Pipes: 

(a) Kind (wood, metal, or concrete). 

(6) Size. 

(c) Length. 

(d) Grade. 

(e) Capacity. 

(/) Pressure boxes. 

11. Gates: 

(a) Headgates: 

(a) Kind. 

(b) Size. 

(c) Capacity. 

(d) Number. 

(e) Controlling device. 
(6) Lateral gates: Kind, etc. 

12. Miscellaneous: 

(a) Bridges. 

(6) Trestles, 

(c) Riprapping. 

{d) Protection. 



CLASSIFICATION IN RELATION TO WATER RESOURCES. 181 

XL Cost of construction : 

1. Detailed estimate. 

2. Bases for estimate. 
XII. Present status of project : 

1. Work completed: 
(a) Amount. 
(6) Character, 
(c) Criticisms. 

XIII. Revenue: 

1. Water rights. 

2. Number of acres covered, 

3. Number of acres sold. 

4. Town sites. 

5. State contract. 

6. Settlers' contract. 

XIV. Appendixes: 

1. Maps. 

2. Geologic sheets. 

3. Photographs. 

4. Precipitation records. 

5. Stream-flow records. 
XV. Suggestions. 

Recommendations. 

Conclusions. 

Extensions. 

To determine whether or not an area of land is commercially 
feasible of reclamation by irrigation the following matters require 
especially careful study : 

Available water supply. 

Present utilization of water for irrigation. 

Duty of water. 

Character of lands to be irrigated. 

Crops. 

Character of irrigation works. 

AVAILABLE -WATER SUPPLY. 

To determine the available water supply a careful investigation 
is made of the streams from which the water is to be diverted. A 
study is made of all stream-flow measurements, and if records of 
daily discharge are available for a number of years, hydrographs 
are prepared showing graphically the daily fluctuations of the 
stream. On these hydrographs a line may be drawn representing 
the equivalent of prior rights. This done, the unutilized flow may 
be readily determined. Where irrigation has been practiced for a 
number of years, these hydrographs may show clearly that the normal 
flow during the irrigation season is already appropriated and that 
the unutilized flow occurs during the winter and during flood stages. 
To utilize fully the run-off from the streams under such conditions 
reservoirs must be constructed to store the water that is now wasted. 



182 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

The study of available water supply therefore involves an investiga- 
tion of the possibilities of storage. Unless information is available 
from private surveys, a reconnaissance examination is made of the 
drainage area for the purpose of locating storage sites. The methods 
followed are merely approximate and do not differ from those used 
in reconnaissance power surveys. 

If no actual records are available showing the discharge of the 
stream, it is necessary to establish gaging stations at once and make 
a careful study of the drainage area and records of precipitation. 
If reliable maps are available from which the area of the drainage 
basin can be measured, and records are available showing the average 
precipitation on the basin, it is then possible to figure roughly the 
probable run-off. This method of determining the available water 
supply is unsafe and is used only where no records of discharge are 
available. 

After determining the gross run-off from the basin the unutilized 
flow or the water available for the reclamation of new lands is deter- 
mined by deducting the amount of water required to satisfy prior 
appropriators. 

PRESENT UTILIZATION OF WATEB FOB IRRIGATION. 

Mention has already been made of the necessity for allowing for 
prior water rights in determining the amount of land that can be 
successfully irrigated from any stream. Irrigation systems already 
installed at the time of the examination furnish one of the most 
troublesome problems the engineer has to investigate. Under the law, 
as usually interpreted in the West, the water is public property, 
permission for its use being granted by the State, and wherever 
lands are classified for irrigation in the West it is nearly always 
true that the State has granted prior rights to the use of the 
water. In the earlier days of irrigation these rights were granted 
with the utmost liberality, without much regard for the amount 
of water actually flowing in a stream. It is therefore common to 
find that these prior rights exceed in aggregate amount the volume 
of water carried by the stream during irrigation seasons. This 
condition has been recognized by persons desiring to use water 
from such streams, and many of them have secured rights to use the 
flood waters which flow in the stream channels at periods of the year 
when irrigation is not practiced. Such utilization is dependent, of 
course, on the construction of storage reservoirs. Thus it may occur 
that, however well adapted for agriculture a piece of public land may 
be, on superficial examination there appears to be no available water for 
its reclamation. It is necessary for the engineer to bear in mind the 
liberality with which prior rights have been conferred and to examine 



CLASSIFICATION IN RELATION TO WATER RESOURCES. 183 

the records for the purpose of determining what proportion of the 
water so granted can be beneficially used for irrigation. Such a study 
involves a determination of the duty of water, a subject which is dis- 
cussed below. It is clear, however, that the determination oi 
beneficial use involves an examination of the reservoirs, headworks, 
canals, and ditches, and the amount of lands embraced in irrigation 
systems under operation, and this is frequently a most difficult mat- 
ter. It is the rule rather than the exception that the irrigator uses 
more water than is necessary for the growth and maturity of his 
crops ; indeed, his use of water is not uncommonly so extravagant that 
the agricultural value of his land is greatly damaged. On few of 
the irrigation systems of the West, especially the older ones, has 
any record of the amount of water used been collected or preserved 
or the capacity of the irrigation canals been determined. This capac- 
ity may be variable, depending largely on the care with which the 
canals are maintained. Thus the engineer is obliged to investigate 
thoroughly all the working features of the systems already installed, 
so that he may make a report as to the actual amount of water neces- 
sary and thereby determine how much if any is available for the irri- 
gation of new lands. Water-right matters are usually complicated 
and a proper study of them requires some working knowledge of the 
water laws and the decisions relating thereto. Although in many of 
the Western States the water laws are similar, they differ in some 
respects and some of the differences are very wide. To cover all the 
necessary points the engineer must examine into the grants and ad- 
judications at the county or State offices where such matters are on 
record. Closely connected with this study of water laws is the obser- 
vation and possibly the measurement of flow in existing canals to 
determine seepage losses. Such losses frequently represent 50 per 
cent or more of the water that is diverted from the streams, and it 
is necessary to consider the question of preventing such losses so that 
the water may be applied to lands not under cultivation. Where ex- 
travagant use or unreasonable loss is discovered the question ihen 
arises whether that water may not be filed upon for the benefit of the 
new lands under consideration. The determination of this point 
usually requires adjudication either by the courts or by State officials 
appointed for this specific purpose. 

DUTY OF WATER. - -'X^i 

The determination of the duty of water, or the amount of water- 
necessary to irrigate a piece of arid land suitably, is another difficult 
task of the engineer. In some parts of the West the necessary amount 
of water has been determined by scientific study. Over the greater;." 
portion of this region, however, the amount has been determined 



184 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

largely by experience, so-called, and has usually been greater than is 
necessary. Frequently the lower limit has been determined in dry 
seasons when the supply of water was meager. Therefore the duty 
of water is susceptible of a very flexible interpretation. On each 
irrigation project there is a generally accepted idea of the amount 
necessary, and whether a larger or smaller amount than this is de- 
livered by the canals is rarely determined. As a rule, however, the 
discriminating engineer can, by examining all the evidence, fix upon 
an approximate standard that may be considered reasonable, and 
unless that standard approaches too closely the total amount of water 
available adjustment is comparatively easy. Determination of the 
duty of water is, after all, an agricultural problem, some crops re- 
quiring more than others on the same land and different kinds of 
soils requiring different amounts for the same crops. Having deter- 
mined this amount, the engineer then measures or estimates the 
losses which occur in transmission through canals and other conduits 
from the source of supply to the cultivated fields, for duty of water 
is, unless otherwise specified, referred to the field itself. This 
amount is sometimes called the net duty. To the amount required 
for actual application to the crops must be added that lost by seep- 
age and by evaporation, and the farther the supply from the place 
of utilization the greater the amount which must be allowed for such 
losses. It is necessary also to consider losses in the storage reser- 
voirs, especially the loss due to evaporation. Having summed up 
all these items and having previously determined the total supply 
available, the engineer can then determine how much is available for 
new lands. To this quantity is applied the duty previously deter- 
mined, allowance being made for the prospective losses in the con- 
duits that will carry the water to the new land. The result of this 
computation will show the amount of new land that can be irrigated. 

CHARACTER OF LAND TO BE IRRIGATED. 

The elements in the investigation of the character of the lands to 
be irrigated include topography, geology, character and depth of 
soil, and general drainage conditions. These are partly engineering 
and partly agricultural factors, but the engineer must take them all 
into consideration, because it is apparent that, with a given prospec- 
tive cost of irrigation, a project would be feasible if the soil and 
physical conditions were of one kind and not feasible if those condi- 
tions were of another kind. The climate is another essential factor, 
and a study must also be made of the kind of crops adapted to the 
particular locality. It is apparent that a greater investment can be 
made for irrigation in a region adapted to citrus fruits than in one 
where, on account of climate, soil, or altitude, hay is the principal 
possible commodity. The determination of these points by the engi- 



CLASSIFICATION IN BELATION TO WATEB BESOUKCES. 185 

neer rests largely on his general knowledge of related conditions and 
on the experience that has been gained by the people in the region. 
The transportation facilities and the market are subject to change 
and should usually be considered merely to determine whether pres- 
ent or future development is desirable. Transportation facilities 
will, under ordinary conditions, be provided in response to produc- 
tion, and market is a feature which, in the long run and under the 
present conditions of rapid growth and consumption in this country, 
will ultimately offer few difficulties. 

CHARACTER OF IRRIGATION WORKS. 

Having reached a favorable determination as to water supply, duty 
of water, and the economic features above set forth, the engineer must 
then investigate the character of irrigation works that are adapted 
to the physical conditions of the area. The character of such works 
depends entirely on the physical problems to be met. It may be 
necessary to construct storage reservoirs in order to utilize the high- 
est possible proportion of the available water. On the other hand, 
the source of supply may be a very large stream, having a capacity 
sufficient to furnish all the water required for practicable irriga- 
tion in the entire region, and the studies are then confined to the 
determination of suitable diversion sites and canal routes reaching 
from the headworks to the lands to be irrigated. As in the case of 
reconnaissance power surveys, no final locations are determined by 
the engineer, it being considered preferable to leave such matters 
of detail to those who may in the future develop the project. The 
location of the headworks and of reservoirs and the routes, lengths, 
and capacities of canals can be determined approximately by field 
investigation of the type herein described, and while the results may 
be inaccurate for purposes of final location and development, they 
are sufficient to afford information suitable for departmental action. 
The public lands located in reservoir sites or along the courses of 
prospective conduits are carefully considered by the engineer with 
respect to their relation to the ultimate problem under consideration. 

METHODS OF CLASSIFICATION. 
PROCEDURE UNDER THE CAREY ACT 

In the administration of the Carey Act and its amendments classi- 
fication of lands with respect to irrigability is a necessary incident, 
for under the conditions of this act the land granted must be non- 
mineral, desert, and irrigable. The first step in the present pro- 
cedure is the withdrawal of lands under the act of March 15, 1910 
(36 Stat, 237), at the solicitation of the State in which the lands are 



186 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

situated. This is essentially a withdrawal for the purpose of classifi- 
cation, and the area withdrawn may be far in excess of that eventu- 
ally constituting the irrigable area of the project. The withdrawal 
is made on the assumption that the area includes some land sus- 
ceptible of irrigation under the Carey Act, but investigation may 
show this not to be the case. During the period of withdrawal, 
which is limited to one year, the promoter of the project has oppor- 
tunity to investigate the area, plan the details of the project, and 
make a reliable classification as to irrigability without fear of aliena- 
tion of the lands and resulting interference with the successful con- 
duct of the project. In case such investigations and a request by the 
State for segregation are not made, the land is restored to the public 
domain without classification. If, on the other hand^ the plans for 
the project are perfected and application for segregation is made, the 
lands listed in the application are further reserved until action is 
taken on the case, and the remainder of the withdrawn lands are 
restored to the public domain and may thereafter be assumed to be 
nonirrigable. The regulations require that the application for segre- 
gation shall include full data to show that the land is nonmineral 
and desert land and is irrigable and that the project is feasible. 
A field investigation is made by the General Land Office and the case 
is referred to the Geological Survey for report. A careful analysis 
of the water supply of the project is then made by the Survey, and 
sufficient investigation of probable costs and returns is made to show 
whether the reclamation and settlement can probably be accomplished 
at a cost warranted by the value of the reclaimed lands. If the 
existing data relative to the amount of water available for the project 
are insufficient to warrant a reasonably definite conclusion as to the 
area that can probably be irrigated, a hydraulic engineer of the 
Geological Survey may be called upon to supplement them by stream 
gagings and such other determinations as seem advisable. When all 
the data are considered, an estimate of the allowable area is prepared 
and a definite report and recommendation on the case are made. 
Final adjustment of the area to be segregated and of the terms of 
the contract between the Secretary of the Interior and the State 
devolves upon the General Land Office. 

The approval of the segregation list under present departmental 
practice is in effect a fairly reliable classification of the land as non- 
mineral, desert, and irrigable. The aim of the work as now con- 
ducted is to safeguard the welfare of prospective settlers, the neces- 
sary investment of capital, and the interest of the Government. 
Some attention is being paid also to construction and settlement on 
Carey Act projects. When data obtained after the segregation is 
made indicate that the area included in a project exceeds the land 



CLASSIFICATION IN RELATION TO WATER RESOURCES. 187 

that can be successfully irrigated, or when it is learned that con- 
structing companies are attempting to increase the area of the project 
by selling water rights to owners of private lands and thus depriving 
the segregated lands of a portion of the water supply necessary for 
their complete reclamation, conferences are held with State authori- 
ties and prompt measures are taken to insure the protection of the 
settlers. It is hoped by such means to avoid the disastrous results 
that have heretofore too often attended operation under the Carey 
Act, to eliminate speculation, so far as possible, and to insure, so far 
as the department has the power, that the settler who seeks a home 
on segregated lands will receive a sufficient area of land with a satis- 
factory water right at a reasonable cost. 

IRRIGATION RESERVOIR SITES. 

Withdrawals of sites for irrigation reservoirs under the acts of 
June 25, 1910 (36 Stat., 847), and August 24, 1912 (37 Stat., 497), 
are made in the same way as withdrawals of power sites whenever 
the investigations of the Geological Survey indicate that feasible 
locations exist. Such withdrawals are made in the interest of bona 
fide development and to withhold from adverse possession reservoirs 
required in connection with large irrigation projects, both public and 
private. Modifications of the withdrawals to permit occupation and 
use of the sites under the applicable right of way acts are made 
when the development is warranted and applications for modification 
are made by responsible parties. 

PROCEDURE UNDER THE ENLARGED-HOMESTEAD ACT. 

The classification of lands under the enlarged-homestead acts also 
devolves upon the Geological Survey, the Director having been 
instructed by the Secretary of the Interior to make recommendations 
of lands suitable for designation thereunder. Nearly 193,000,000 
acres of land have been designated in the States to which the pro- 
visions of the acts apply. Of this area, approximately 157,000,000 
acres were designated within three months after the passage of the 
earlier acts. This result was achieved in part by the use of topo- 
graphic maps, the accumulation of 35 years of work, in connection 
with a large number of which unpublished land-classification sheets 
were on file; in part by tlie application of available data on rainfall, 
run-off, and stream flow ; in part by consultation with the Reclama- 
tion Service; and in part by the cooperation of the several State 
engineers. In spite of the uncertainty incident to rapid work cov- 
ering large areas, later information has shown that these designa- 
tions were in general properly made. The cancellations of erroneous 
designations amount in the aggregate to about 615,000 acres, or less 



188 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

than 0.4 per cent of the early designations. Since the first general 
designations were made numerous requests for the designation of 
additional areas have been received, and the work incident to the 
designation of lands under the enlarged-homestead acts now consists 
largely of the consideration of such requests, with office and field 
studies to determine whether the lands involved may properly be 
designated. The office studies include investigation of township 
plats, topographic maps, records of irrigation projects, rainfall and 
stream-flow data, and other sources of information from which a 
conclusion as to the suitability of the land for designation may be 
reached. In case field examination is made, the results are used in 
the office studies preceding designation. 

Not all nonirrigable lands, however, may properly be designated, 
for it would obviously be useless to designate lands that could not be 
entered under the acts. Unsurveyed lands are not designated and 
newly surveyed lands are, by departmental order, withheld from 
designation until six months after the filing of the approved plats of 
survey in the local land office. Patented lands are, of course, not 
lands of the United States and are therefore eliminated from pro- 
posed designation. Lands on which there is sufficient rainfall for the 
production of ordinary crops without recourse to unusual methods of 
cultivation are not designated. Lands on which there is merchant- 
able timber or which contain valuable minerals other than coal (in 
Utah coal, oil, or gas) are not properly subject to designation. Coal 
lands and in Utah coal, oil, or gas lands may be designated and en- 
tered subject to the terms of the acts providing for agricultural en- 
tries of the surface rights on such lands. Lands included in with- 
drawals or reservations of any kind or in Carey Act segregations are 
not properly subject to designation. Lands entered and in process of 
acquisition under the public-land laws may be designated if other- 
wise subject to the act, but lands included in subsisting entries under 
the desert-land act, being prima facie irrigable lands, are not prop- 
erly subject to designation. Lands including sections granted to 
States as school lands are not designated unless they are excepted 
from the school grant. 

Although no form of petition is specified for the use of those re- 
questing the designation of lands under the enlarged-homestead acts, 
it is desired, in order that the Survey may have such information 
concerning the character of the land as the petitioner can supply, 
that such petitions be made on the usual form of application for 
entry of such lands, wherein the applicant sets forth under oath state- 
ments as to important features of the character of the land. Where 
this form is not used an affidavit setting forth essentially the same in- 
formation is requested of the petitioner. 



CLASSIFICATION IN EELATION TO WATEB KESOUKCES. 189 

Orders of designation originating in the Geological Survey have 
been serially numbered both with general and State numbers. The 
form of letter and order used is here shown : 

Department of the Interior, 
United States Geological Survey, 

Washington, January 6, 1913. 
The honorable the Secretary of the Interior. 

Sir : The following areas of land to which the enlarged-homestead act of 
February 19, 1909 (35 Stat, 639), as construed by the department, is applicable 
are, in my opinion, not susceptible of successful irrigation at a reasonable cost 
from any known source of water supply, and I therefore recommend their 
designation under the said act: 

Enlarged-Homestead Designation No. 210. 
Montana No. 59. 

Montana meridian, Montana. 

T. 9 N, R. 7 E., sec. 22, lots 2, 3, 4, and 5, NW. I of SE. J. 
[Here follows remainder of land description.] 

The above-listed lands will be enterable under the provisions of the en- 
larged-homestead act in so far as they may be vacant, public, nontimbered, 
and nonmineral and unaffected by any special provision of law, withdrawal, or 
reservation inconsistent with the provisions of said act. The surface of coal 
lands may, however, be entered subject to the reservation of the coal to the 
Government. 

The area included in this designation is approximately 1,485 acres. None, 
of the lands listed above are withdrawn in oil, phosphate, or power-site re- 
serves. 

Very respectfully, Geo. Otis Smith, 

Director. 

Approved January 28, 1913, and referred to the General Land Office to be- 
come effective February 27, 1913. Samuel Adams, 

First Assistant Secretary. 

The office record of the Survey relating to enlarged-homestead 
designations consists of State maps on which the designated lands 
are platted, a file of orders of designation arranged by serial num- 
bers, a file of minutes similarly arranged showing the data on which 
the designation is based, and township cards on which are platted 
the designated areas. Cancellations are similarly recorded and filed, 
all designations and cancellations affecting any township, however, 
being shown on a single township card. 



190 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

CLASSIFICATION AS REGARDS DOMESTIC USE. 
GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 

The problem of domestic water supply in an arid region is closely 
associated with the agricultural development of the region. In the 
broadest meaning of the term the use of water for domestic purposes 
includes not only its use in the household but by farm animals, by 
cattle on the range, and by the prospector in the desert wastes. 

Permanent agricultural settlement depends on the presence of a 
water supply suitable for household purposes and for farm use. 
Under homestead laws requiring as their fundamental conditions 
both residence and cultivation, the extension of settlement to new 
areas is possible only where the prospective homesteader finds water 
within a reasonable distance of his chosen location. Where water 
suitable for such use does not exist on the surface the homesteader 
must resort to wells; failing there, he must haul water. The labor 
and therefore the expense of hauling water are great. Uncleanliness 
and insanitation are almost enforced by the resulting economy of use. 
The conditions of water storage on the homestead do not usually tend 
to insure purity and frequently cause disease. The possibility of 
procuring a domestic water supply from wells in regions where 
surface waters are impure or altogether absent is thus a question of 
great importance. 

In areas where the underground water resources are unexplored 
geologic investigation may determine the more favorable localities 
for putting down test wells, and in regions where the position of 
the water table is not known or is known but imperfectly the applica- 
tion of principles well known to the geologist may be of great assist- 
ance to the farmer and the well driller in forecasting the possibili- 
ties. To this end large areas in the arid region have been geologically 
investigated. The data relative to underground waters have been 
compiled and maps prepared, not only showing the position of the 
water table in proved areas but indicating the probable location of 
the water table in adjacent unexplored areas. The data thus obtained 
by the Geological Survey, many of them in cooperation with the 
States, are published and widely distributed in water-supply and pro- 
fessional papers. 

FARM WATER SUPPLY. 

A modification of the homestead laws to relieve the entryman of 
the necessity of residence on lands where a domestic water supply is 
not available and can not be obtained is operative in Idaho and Utah 
under the enlarged-homestead acts, whose provisions have been men- 
tioned. The provision in these acts relating to domestic water supply 



CLASSIFICATION IN RELATION TO WATER RESOURCES. 191 

has been construed by the Department of the Interior as referring 
not only to surface waters but to the underground waters which 
could be reached by wells of reasonable depth. In determining 
the existence of such a domestic water supply and in recommending 
suitable lands for designation under the provisions of these acts, in 
regions where no potable surface waters exist, the Geological Survey 
takes into consideration the depth below the surface and the 
quality of the underground water, the amount of labor necessary to 
reach it by a well, and the cost of development compared with the 
agricultural value of the lands. The provisions of the law are con- 
sidered particularly applicable to areas where substantial but fruit- 
less efforts have been made to obtain such a water supply by digging 
wells. In procuring data for classification of lands of this class the 
Geological Survey has been assisted by special agents of the General 
Land Office. To January 1, 1913, areas comprising 1,199,638 acres 
had been designated in Utah and 7,801 acres in Idaho as not having 
a suitable domestic water supply. 

RANGE WATER SUPPLY. 

The problem of the disposition of grazing lands is still largely 
unsettled. By the creation of national forests a large part of the 
summer range has come under the general scheme of forest adminis- 
tration and is leased by the Forest Service at a specified price per 
capita, but the unreserved public lands still include considerable 
areas of summer range, much of the fall and spring range, and a 
iarge proportion of the winter range. The control of the spring, 
summer, and fall range is rapidly passing into the hands of indi- 
viduals and live-stock associations, not in general by securing title to 
the public lands as a whole but by the simple expedient of acquiring 
title to the water holes. The owner of the springs and streams located 
on an otherwise waterless range has obtained the use of the grazing 
land on far more favorable terms than if he had acquired absolute 
ownership. He is free from State land tax, he pays no rent to the 
Government, and no rival sheep or cattleman may water at his wells. 
Except for the period when snow, by providing water, may make 
invasions by rival stockmen possible, he is secure in his possession. 

As a remedy for this situation, disposition of the grazing lands by 
sale and by lease has been advocated, and several bills dealing with 
the situation have been introduced in Congress. If, as is advocated 
by the Interior Department, a leasing system is adopted, it is ap- 
parent that the Government would be at a serious disadvantage in 
proper administration unless watering places were also available for 
lease. As a step in the working out of a definite policy for the ad- 
ministration of public grazing lands outside of national forests the 



192 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

withdrawal of public watering places under the authority conferred 
by the acts of June 25, 1910 (36 Stat., 847), and August 24, 1912 (37 
Stat., 497), has been sanctioned by the President. The first with- 
drawal for this purpose was approved by him on March 29, 1912. 
The effect of withdrawals of this character is to prevent alienation 
of the lands pending legislation governing their use under public 
control, but the use of the watering places by all is meantime possible 
under such conditions that no user can acquire the right of permanent 
exclusive occupation. 

These withdrawals are based upon field investigation by members 
of the Geological Survey and some of them on reports of General 
Land Office inspectors. Careful consideration is given to the rela- 
tion of the watering place to the surrounding range and its value in 
connection with grazing on the public lands. Agricultural lands sus- 
ceptible of successful cultivation have been excluded from with- 
drawal except in regions where most of the watering places have 
passed into private ownership and it becomes imperative to reserve 
water for stock, even at the expense of settlement. 

MUNICIPAL WATER SUPPLY. 

An incidental classification of lands as valuable for domestic water 
supply arises through right of way applications for municipal sys- 
tems. In general, where sources of water supply are sought for 
municipal purposes their value therefor far exceeds their value for 
power or irrigation. Approval of such right of way applications 
therefore amounts to a definite classification of the lands affected. 
The lands may be used for reservoirs, conduits, stream protection, 
or any other purpose relating to municipal water supply. 

Such right of way applications are referred to the Geological 
Survey for report. In view of the relatively high value of water for 
municipal supply, the question whether the application provides for 
the highest use is seldom considered. The most troublesome question 
is to determine whether the application is really made for municipal 
purposes. If the application is made by a municipality this ques- 
tion is readily answered, but if a private water company makes the 
application it may be difficult to determine whether the purpose is 
private or municipal. A strict showing of municipal authorization 
to the private company is required in such cases and constitutes the 
chief criterion for classification. 

Lands embraced in permits for municipal water supply are with- 
drawn and reserved in order that occupation in the interests of the 
municipality may be suitably protected. 



INDEX. 



A. Page. 

Agricultural land laws, acquisition 

of mineral land under 36 

provisions of 20-23 

purpose of 20 

See also Homesteads ; Desert 

land ; Timber and stone 

land. 
Agricultural lands, existing public 

domain in 8 

Agriculture, information as to, from 

classification 156 

Apex, law of 24,39,48 

Appalachian field, oil in 1 116 

Applicant's affidavits, classification 

by 33 

Arizona, enlarged homesteads in 22 

Asbestos, occurrence of 140 

Ashley, G. EL, work of 9 

Asphalt, occurrence of 140 

Assessment work, requirement of_ 24, 25, 49 

Authorship, division of 9—11 

B. 

Ball, M. W., work of 9 

Base maps. See Topographic maps. 

Borax, occurrence of 139 

Building stone, deposits of, laws con- 
cerning 25-26 

C. 

California, oil in 117 

Calkins, F. C, work of 10 

Campbell, M. R., work of 11 

Canals. See Irrigation canals 28 

Carey Act, proceedings under 185—187 

provisions of 30-31 

Chance, H. M., curves of, use of, in 

valuing coal lands 83 

Clark, F. R., work of 10 

Classification. See Land classifica- 
tion ; Water supply. 
Coal, attitude of, allowance for, in 

classification 70-73, 92 

attitude of, allowance for, in 

valuation 87-92 

determination of 105 

broken beds of, allowance for, in 

classification 70 

allowance for, in classifica- 
tion, chart showing 71 

burned beds of, allowance for, in 

valuation 79 

depth to, allowance for, in classi- 
fication , 73-7S 

allowance for, in valuation_75, 91-93 

78894°— Bull. 537—13 13 



Page. 

Coal, depth of, determination of 105 

depth of, limits of, chart show- 
ing 75 

irregular beds of, allowance for, 

in classification 72-73 

allowance for, in valuation — 87-90 

chart showing 89 

mining cost of, allowance for, in 

valuation 82 

figure showing 85 

multiple beds of, valuation of 93 

quality of, allowance for, in 

classification 68-69 

allowance for, in valuation 82 

determination of 59, 68, 105-108 

royalty on 80-81 

sampling of, method of 108 

thickness of, allowance for, in 

classification 69-73 

allowance for, in valuation 83-90 

determination of 100-104 

value of, in ground 79-81 

weathering of, depreciation by 78-79 

workability of, allowance for, in 

classification 66-78 

See also Coal lands ; Coal beds. 

Coal beds, persistence of 100-104 

persistence of, uncertainty of 94 

Coal lands, access to, by rail, allow- 
ance for 95 

acquisition of, under agricultural 

land laws 36 

area of, still belonging to United 

States 8 

classification of, authority for 65 

factors involved in 67-78 

field methods of— _ 50-53,59-60 

methods of 66-79 

organization for 16-17 

principles involved in 66-67 

procedure in 108—110 

progress in 111 

purpose of 65—66 

review of 95 

regulations for 96 

coal in, value of, in ground 79-81 

extent of 100-108 

faults in, allowance for 93 

field work on 98-108 

40-acre tracts of, classification 

by 78,99 

geographic location of 99 

geology of, necessity for field de- 
termination of 99-100 

intrusions in, allowance for 94 

laws concerning 27,37,45-46 

maximum price of 95 

193 



194 



INDEX. 



Page. 

Coal lands, prices of 81,95 

restorations of 52, 97-98 

valuation of 65,79-95 

allowance for faults in 93 

diagram used in 92 

difficulty of 47 

factors in 81-82 

allowance for 82—95 

maximum of 95 

procedure in 108-110 

regulations for 96-97 

value per acre of 90-91, 95 

withdrawals of 36-37, 52, 65-66 

rules for 37 

typical form of 65-66 

See also Coal ; Coal beds. 

Coal section, organization of 16 

work of — 16-17 

Colorado, enlarged homesteads in 22 

oil in 117 

Colville Indian Reservation, failure 

to classify lands in 144 

Contour lines, explanation of 57 

Crystalline rocks, occurrence of oil 

in 113 

D. 

Dam sites, physical details of 173 

See also Water-supply sites. 

Desert-land laws, provisions of 22 

Domestic use, classification for 190-192 

classification for, general princi- 
ples of 190 

See also Enlarged homesteads ; 
Municipal use ; Range. 
Duty of water, allowance for, in 

classification 183-184 

E. 

Elevations, determination of 57 

Enlarged-homestead law, proceed- 
ings under 187-189, 190-191 

provisions of 22 

Entries, fraudulent, defeat of, by 

classification 144-145 



Farm use, water for. See Enlarged- 
homestead law. 
Faults, allowance for, in valufng 

coal lands 93 

Field methods of classification, de- 
velopment of = 50-53 

outline of : 98-108 

See also Surveys ; particular 
classes of lands. 

Finch, E. H., work of ^ 10 

Float, investigation of 151-153 

Florida, phosphate reserves in 125 

Forest homestead laws, provisions 

of 21 

Forty-acre tracts, classification by__ 78 



G - Page. 

Gaging stations, establishment of _ 173, 182 

Gale, H. S., work of 10 

Gas. See Oil and gas. 

General Land Office, cooperation 

with 13 

Geological Survey, IT. S., classifica- 
tion by 35-43 

classification by, authorization 

for 11-13, 35 

history of 35-36 

evolution of 14-16 

topographic maps of 14 

Graphite, occurrence cf 140 

Grover, N. C, work of 10 

Guano, occurrence of 140 

Gypsum, occurrence of 139 

H. 

Halite, occurrence of 139 

Hayes, C. W., work of 11 

Heroy, W. B., work of 10 

Homesteads, laws for, provisions of_ 21-22 
relation of, to public-land with- 
drawals 44 

to power-site withdrawals 176 

See also Enlarged homesteads. 

Hydrographic classification 16, 17-18 



Idaho, enlarged homestead in 190-191 

phosphates in 127 

Indiana, oil in 116-117 

Indian reservations, classification of 

lands of 143-144 

Internal improvement, land grants 

for 30 

Irrigation, character of land for_ 184-185 

classification for 178-189 

factors in 181-185 

general considerations in 178-181 

methods of _ 185-189 

duty of water in 183-184 

water available for 181-182 

water utilized for 182-183 

withdrawals for 185-187 

works for, character of, allow- 
ance for 185 

See also Enlarged homestead. 
Irrigation canals, right of way for, 

laws concerning 28 

water in, loss of 183 

Irrigation reservoir sites, with- 
drawals of 187 

Irrigation section, organization of 17 

work of 17 

Irrigation surveys, development of__ 14—15 
Isolated tracts, laws concerning 23 

K. 

Kansas, oil in 117 

King, Clarence, report of, on land 

classification 12-13 



INDEX. 



195 



L. Page. 

Land classification, agencies of 33-43 

data for, chart showing 63 

reports on 63-65 

history of 18-50 

laws for 12,18-32 

See also Public-land laws ; 
Land grants. 

methods of 33-50, 66-79 

necessity for 32—33 

organization for, development of_ 11 

policy of 9 

purpose of 7-9 

See also Water supply ; particu- 
lar classes of land. 
Land-classification board, organiza- 
tion of 13, 15-18 

records of 16-17, 18 

Land grants. See State grants ; Rail- 
road grants. 
Land Office field service, classifica- 
tion by 34-35 

Land Office maps, use of, in coal 

classification 58-60 

Lands, alienation of 7 

character of, allowance for, in 

classification 184-185 

classification of. See Land classi- 
fication. 

utilization of 7 

value of, determination of 7-8 

La Rue, E. C, work of 10 

Leasing, desirability of 46, 47-49 

proposed allotment to States 

from 49 

returns from 49 

Legislation, desirable, outline of_ 46-50, 

177-178 
See also Withdrawals ; Land 
classification ; Mineral 
lands ; etc. 

Leighton, M. O., work of 10 

Lesher, C. E., work of 10 

Lindgren, Waldemar, work of 11 

Lodes, investigation of claims for_ 148-155 

laws concerning 24-25, 140 

sampling of 154-155 

M. 

Magnesite, occurrence of 140 

Maps, construction of, for coal 

classification 51-53 

improvement in 50 

See also Topographic maps. 

Mendenhall, W. C, work of 9 

Metalliferous mineral lands. See 
Mineral lands, metallifer- 
ous. 

Milling uses, right of way for, laws 

concerning 29 

Mineral classification, organization 

for 16-17,18 

Mineral lands, classification of, by- 
products of 155-159 

classification of, field methods of. 
See Field methods. 



Page. 
Mineral lands, data on, preparation 

of 63-63 

valuation of 79-95 

See also Coal lands ; Oil and gas 
lands ; Phosphate lands ; 
Potash lands ; Miscellane- 
ous minerals ; Mineral 
lands, metalliferous. 
Mineral lands, metalliferous, claims 
for, precedence over wa- 
ter-supply rights 175 

classification of, agencies of 145 

field work in 146-155 

methods of 145-155 

problems of 145-146 

procedure in 146 

purposes of 142-145 

laws for, provisions of 23-29 

leasing of 48 

withdrawals of 40-41, 44-45 

Mining, aid to, from classification- 157—158 
Mining uses, right of way for, laws 

concerning 29 

Miscellaneous minerals, data on — 140-141 
lands containing, withdrawal of_ 142 

laws on 140 

occurrence of 138-140 

Missouri, oil in 117 

Monazite, occurrence of 139 

Montana, enlarged homesteads in 22 

Municipal use, water supplies for, 

right of way for 29, 192 

N. 

National Academy of Sciences, re- 
port of, on land classifica- 
tion 11 

Nevada, enlarged homestead in 22 

New Mexico, enlarged homestead in_ 22 

oil in 117 

Northrop, J. D., work of 10 

O. 
Ohio, oil in 116 

Oil, depth to, allowance for, in 

classification 120-121 

quality of, allowance for, in 

classification 119-120 

Oil and gas, accumulations of, de- 
pendence of, on struc- 
ture 114-116 

accumulations of, position of 112—116 

migration of 112 

occurrence of, distribution of_ 116-117 

factors in 112-116 

surface indications of 116 

See also Oil and gas lands. 
Oil and gas lands, adverse water-site 

claims and, relations of_ 175-176 
area of, still belonging to United 

States 8 

classification of 111 

data for 118 

factors in 118-121 

• method of 118 

purpose of _ 117 



196 



INDEX. 



Page. 

Oil and gas lands, laws concerning- 26, 39 

leasing of 47-48 

restorations of 122-123 

withdrawals of— 38-39, 44, 46, 121-122 

legal authority for 43-44 

See also Oil and gas ; Oil rock. 

Oil and gas section, organization of_ 17 

work of 17 

Oil fields in United States, positions 

of 116-117 

Oil rock, character of 119 

depth of 119 

structure of ___ 114-116 

water in 120 

Oklahoma, oil in 117 

Oregon, enlarged homestead in 22 

oil in 117 

r. 

Patents, application for, time limit 

on 49 

Phosphate lands, area of, still be- 
longing to United States _ 8 

classification of, factors in 128-129 

principles governing 129-130 

regulations for 130-132 

diagram illustrating 131 

distribution of 124-128 

restorations of 134 

withdrawals of_ 39-40, 125-128, 132-133 

Phosphates, definition of 124 

exports of 40 

lands containing, distribution 

of 124,128 

production of, in United States 124 

use of 123-124 

Phosphate section, organization of 17 

work of 17 

Phosphorus, depletion of, in farm- 
ing land 123-124 

Placers, investigation of claims 

for 147-148 

laws concerning 25, 40 

Potash deposits, formation of 135-136 

occurrence of 134—135 

search for 40, 136 

Potash lands, classification of 137 

exploration for 40 

leasing of 48 

withdrawal of 40, 137 

See also Potash deposits. 
Powell, J. W., report of, on land 

classification _ 11-12 

Power development, grants for, laws 

concerning 28-29 

Prospecting, aid to, from classifica- 
tion 157-158 

permits for 48 

Public-land laws. See Agricultural 
lands ; Mineral lands ; Coal 
lands ; Public uses. 

Public-land surveys, methods of 61-62 

Public uses, lands for, laws con- 
cerning 27-29, 192 

lands for, leasing of 49 

Pyrite, occurrence of * 140 



R - Page. 

Railroad grants, classification of 

lands of 143 

laws concerning 31-32 

Railroads, access by, to coal land, 

allowance for 95 

right of way grants to 27-28 

routes for, over water-power 

sites 168, 172 

Range, water supply on, withdraw- 
als for 42-43, 191-192 

Reclamation, development of 14-15 

laws for 19, 22 

Reconnaissance surveys, methods of_ 60-61 

Reservoir sites, withdrawals of 42 

See also Water-supply sites. 

Restorations of lands, extent of 52 

See also particular classes of 
lands ; Water-power sites, 
etc. 

Richards, R. .W., work of 10 

Right of way, grants for, laws con- 
cerning 27-29, 161, 192 

leasing of 49 

River surveys, execution of 173 

Rocky Mountains, oil in 117 

Rogers, G. S., work of 10 

S. 

Salines, laws concerning 26 

origin of 135-136 

See also Potash deposits. 

Salt, common, occurrence of 139 

School lands, classification of 145 

grants of, laws concerning 29 

Scientific data, acquirement of, from 

classification 158-159 

Schultz, A. R., work of 10 

Sedimentary rocks, oil in 113-114 

Separations, authority for 45-46 

definition of 37,45 

extension of . 46-47,177 

Smith, G. O., report of, on land 

classification 13 

Soapstone, occurrence of 139 

Stabler, Herman, work of 10 

States, allotments from proceeds of 

leases to, proposal of 49 

State grants, laws concerning 29-31 

Stone, deposits of, laws concerning- 25-26 
Stone and timber land law, provi- 
sions of 23 

Stream flow, records of 181-182 

Structure, importance of, in oil-land 

classification 114-116 

Structure contours, explanation of 57-58 

Surveyors, deputy, classification by_ 34 

Surveys for mineral classification, 

methods of 53-62 

topographic base for, existence 

of 53-54 

making of 55-58 

need for 53-58 

See also Reconnaissance surveys ; 
Public-land surveys. 



INDEX. 



197 



T. Page. 

Talc, occurrence of 139 

Tennessee, phosphate reserves in — 126-127 
Timber and stone land law, provi- 
sions of 23 

Topographic maps of Geological Sur- 
vey, character of 53-54 

construction of, for coal classifi- 
cation 51-53 

improvement in 50 

making of 55-58 

uses of 14, 50 

Township, sample, map of, showing 

coal classification 63 

U. 

Utah, enlarged homestead in 190-^.91 

oil in 117 

phosphates in 127 



Valuation of lands, determination 
of 

Veatch, A. C, work of 



W. 



11 



Washington, enlarged homesteads in_ 22 
oil in 117 

Water, duty of, allowance for, in 

classification 183-184 

highest use of, principle of 160 

utilization of, principles of 159-161 

Water laws, State, divergences in 183 

Water power, development of, on 
public land, recommenda- 
tions concerning 177-178 

inferior value of 160 

monopoly in 161 

protection against 161 

nonexclusiveness of 160-161 

Water-power section, organization 

of 17 

work of 17 



Page. 
Water-power sites, adverse claims 

to 175-176 

classification of 161-178 

commercial factors 

in 167-168,171-172 

engineering factors in 169-171 

field work for 167-174 

initiation of 162 

legislation recommended 

for 177-178 

comparative value of, for other 

purposes 167-168 

detailed investigation of 172-173 

exclusion of land from 176-177 

See also Restorations. 

location of 167 

preliminary investigation of 168-172 

restorations of 174-175 

transmission of power from 161 

valuation of 167-168 

withdrawals of 41-42, 161-167, 174 

chart illustrating 166 

Water reserves, public, withdrawal 

of 42-43,191-192 

Water supply, available amount of- 181-182 

classification in relation to 159-192 

information concerning, from 

classification 156-157 

right of way for 192 

utilization of, for irrigation 182-183 

See Water-power sites ; Irrigation ; 
Domestic use. 

Wegemann, C. H., work of 10 

West, phosphate reserves in 125-126 

Withdrawals, action of Geological 

Survey in 35-42 

authority for 43-45 

extent of 52 

law for 19-20 

object of 8 

See also particular classes of 
land. 

Woodruff, E. G., work of 10 

Wyoming, enlarged homesteads in 22 

oil in 117 

phosphates in 127 



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